The Immortal Changed
by awriterofstories
Summary: One life ends and another begins. Percy Jackson: Hero of Camp Half-Blood; is sent on a mission to Forks, WA. Something happens there, something which changes him forever. But his adventures don't end there. Not by a long shot. Percy/Annabeth. Work-in-progress. Updates might be slow.
1. Changing

**Hello everyone! I'm ****awriterofstories, and ****this my newest fanfiction. I did not say first, because I have another story, but that account got deleted. Anyway, I wrote this story because I was tired of seeing others write out terrible fanfics of this kind, and finally decided to write one of my own. So tell me what you think, and let me know if you want more!**

**Disclaimer: I'm only say this once; _I do not this story; someone else does. _Rick Riordan and Stefanie Meyer to be exact. **

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><p>I was running. Running from several dogs proportionate to rhinos; each with vivacious appetites, and teeth the size of a kitchen knives. Now, it wasn't that I couldn't handle myself against a hellhound; shoot, I'd done that many times. And two hellhounds? Bring it, baby. Three hellhounds? That was questionable. Four hellhounds? It was starting to look not so good. Five? That was bad. Six? Seven? Eight? Nine? Hit the road, Jack; and get the heck outta there.<p>

And that was precisely what I was doing.

I had been sent by camp to Forks, Washington; to find a few demigod children that were living out in the area. Annabeth had wanted to come with me, but, in the end, decided not to out of a very busy schedule concerning her job as Olympus' architect. So I'd told her it was fine, and that I'd be back within a week. When I'd gotten to Forks, I found the three children, two girls and one boy, who had turned out to be children of Demeter. Apparently, they had individually run away from home and found each other. They were living in the woods outside of Forks, and were very surprised, and scared, when I showed up. But, after I'd convinced them that I was a friend and not a monster, they let me take them back to town. I was going to bring them back by train to New York, where Argus would pick us up and take us to camp. Unfortunately, I did not have enough money for four train tickets; just three. The simple solution was that someone would have to stay behind. So, I put them on the train, gave them what little cash was leftover, and sent them on their way. I figured that I could swim back home; after all, the sea was pretty close by… But, very unfortunately, so were the hellhounds. The dogs had been stalking the children, and were getting ready to attack when I had showed up. So they waited until I was alone before they attacked. And that's where you find me now: running my butt off.

I nearly tripped on a tree root that was sticking out of the ground. The blackness of the night made it hard for me to see where I was going. Catching myself, I continued to make my way through the tangled underbrush and thick pine branches. I'd been running hard for about a mile, and was getting tired fast. I heard a chilling howl somewhere behind me. One that was far too close for comfort. I pressed on, trying harder than ever to put distance between me and my pursuers.

Suddenly, I burst into a circular clearing. It was about forty feet in diameter, with brownish green grass that still bore traces of a late summer. There were no trees in the clearing.

I ran forward; trying get across. Just as I was about halfway through the clearing, I saw a black shadow bound out of the woods in front of me. I turned to run the opposite way and saw red eyes about twenty feet away from me. I looked to my left, and to my right. There were red eyes all around me. Desperately, I scanned the area for anything that I could use in my defense. There were no trees I could climb; and no way could I get to one. I was trapped. The hellhounds started to circle me; like wolves going in for the kill. I backed into the center of the clearing and drew my sword, Riptide. I pushed aside my fears and determined myself. If this was my end, then I was going to give such an accounting of myself, that monsters would talk about it for another thousand years. 'Die with my boots on,' as the saying went.

The hellhounds started to circle closer. I raised my sword higher; trying to look intimidating. With a growl one of the hellhounds sprang at me. I dodged and slashed. The monster gave a yelp and dissipated. One down, eight to go.

The remaining monsters eyed me warily. They were more cautious now, but even more dangerous because of it.

Suddenly, two hellhounds leaped at me simultaneously. I dodged one, but was unable to avoid the other. I screamed in pain as the monster ripped my back open with its claws. It felt as though someone had laid hot irons across my back. Emboldened by the sight of blood, the other monsters jumped at me; trying finish me off. I managed to swing my sword around in a circle; killing two of them. The rest jumped backwards.

I was weak with loss of blood and still out of energy from trying to outrun the beasts. Blood was seeping down my legs; and there was a very nasty gash on my left leg. It was not looking good at all. I considered trying to cut my way through the monsters to get to the forest and maybe climb a tree, but then discarded the idea; I'd never make it. My best option was to try and kill the monsters individually.

I leaped forward and sliced at a hellhound. The dog, taken by surprise, did not expect the sudden attack and was killed. That was four. There were still five left. I quickly turned to the nearest dog left and killed it. By now the monsters had recovered from their initial surprise and were now on the defensive.

I felt hope surge through my limbs, giving me new strength. Things might be okay after all.

I quickly moved through the rest of the monsters; finishing them off, one by one. Finally there was only one left; the largest. It was a huge brute; bigger than the rest. It was about ten feet tall at its shoulders, and fifteen feet long from muzzle to hind legs. Its canines were the size of daggers; with claws bigger than my pinky finger. Its eyes shone with evil intelligence. It had refrained from attacking me hitherto, and it was alone now; but I felt I'd rather take the rest of the pack put together, than this monster by itself. I gripped my sword harder and readied myself.

Growling viciously, the hellhound launched itself at me with blinding speed. I barely had time react before the dog smashed into me; knocking Riptide out of my hand and sending it flying into the darkness. I was thrown to the ground. I struggled to get back to my feet; but before I could make it, the monster scooped me up with its mouth and bit down hard. I screamed in agony as its razor sharp teeth pierced my chest. Blood spurted out of my mouth. The hellhound shook me like a rag doll and tossed me onto the ground. Dark spots appeared in my vision. The monster advanced slowly; taking its time before moving in for the kill. I tried to back up, but couldn't find the strength.

This was it; this was end. And I was going to be dog chow. I wished that I could have go out a little more heroically.

Suddenly, I felt something hard in my pocket. My sword. Fresh hope took hold of me. Somehow, I mustered enough strength to reach into my pocket and take out the pen. The hellhound was getting closer. Trying desperately to get the cap off, I looked up to see the monster standing above me. It was about to pounce. The hellhound reared its head up like snake, opened its mouth and came down for the killing blow. In that instant, I uncapped Riptide and stabbed upwards. The sword pierced the monster's mouth; and imbeded itself in the dog's throat. The hellhound choked and staggered backwards; taking Riptide with it. Letting out a wailing howl, it vanished; sword and all.

My head fell back, and I closed my eyes in relief. As the adrenaline left me, the severity of my wounds came to me in a flash. I opened my eyes and looked down at my chest. Blood was flowing freely from two holes below my heart. My left arm was broken in two places. And the gashes on my leg and back were still bleeding badly. There was no way I could survive all this. Even as my brain was taking all of my injuries in, I could feel my body shutting down. I was getting very, very tired. I couldn't fight it anymore.

I closed my eyes and saw my life flash before me. I saw my mother, and Paul, celebrating my eighteenth birthday; which was quite an accomplishment considering I was a demigod. I saw Chiron, training me in archery class; which I sucked at. I saw Grover, and the time I first saw him without any pants on. It was quite a shocker. And finally, I saw Annabeth. I how when she would spar with me in the training field; her blond hair flying all about her. She always won. I saw when she would throw her arms around my neck and kiss me. I saw how beautiful she looked when she was mad. A tear trickled down my check. I would miss her the most. I wasn't a planner, but I'd be lying if I told you that I had no plans for that girl. I wanted to marry her. I wanted to settle down and raise a family with her. In my mind's eye, I saw her holding a baby and laughing. She looked so happy. Now, none of that would ever happen. At least with me.

Suddenly, something touched me. I opened my eyes with difficulty and looked up. I was startled when I saw a man was standing over me. He had pale skin, blond hair, and amber eyes. They were deep, and full of wisdom; like Chiron's. His face had a youthful appearance, and he looked to be in his late twenties or early thirties. What startled me most about him was the his inhuman beauty. I wasn't gay, or bi, by any means, but I was amazed at the sheer physical perfection the man displayed. However, I wasn't interested in how the man looked at the moment; I badly needed help. I tried to speak, but failed.

"Hush there, lad; be still," the man said in a velvety voice. The sound was more beautiful than anything I had ever heard.

I tried again to speak and managed to croak out, "Help me."

The man hesitated, but then nodded and picked me up. He did so with surprising ease. As he started to run, the world seemed to blur around me. I had the sensation of flying as I closed my eyes. It was so dizzying that I almost felt like throwing up, but I didn't have the strength to do even that. The next thing I knew was that that the man was laying me down on a hard surface in a white room. I blacked out, shifting back and forth from concious to unconcious. In one of my concious moments, I heard voices.

"We can't do it!"

"What about the treaty?"

"He'll die if we don't!"

What was going on? What treaty? And what are they going to do?

I heard a door open and close. The man that had found me leaned over and looked me in the eyes.

"I'm sorry, but this is to save your life. This will be very painful," the man said with a pained expression.

He reached out and took hold of my right arm. He brought it to his mouth. I began to panic. What was he doing? The man opened his mouth; revealing a set of even white teeth. My eyes widened. I tried to struggle, but there was no energy left in me. I could only watch helplessly as the man put my arm between his teeth and bit down. A sharp pain erupted from my wrist area. The man held my arm in his mouth for about ten seconds; then took it out and set it down. He then walked over the other side of the table and did the same for my left arm.

He stood up and walked to the door. Before closing it behind him he said, "It is done. I'm sorry, Percy, but this is the only way to save your life."

He spoke with sympathy in his voice, as if he knew what was to come and was sorry. I realized, with a start, I'd never told him my name. I wondered how he knew it.

As I was thinking on that, I became aware of a warm sensation in my arms where he'd bitten my arms. It was spreading. The warmth started to become hotter. It was still getting hotter. It was starting to become unbearable. I moaned. The fire was building up, spreading throughout my entire body. My brain started to block out all other thoughts and instead focused on the burning that was killing me.

When I blew Mt. St. Helen's, the telekhines there had plastered me with lava. It didn't feel half as bad as the fire inside me did now.

The fire spread to the rest of my body; engulfing it in a horribly painful burning. The pain was so intense, wondered if I was dreaming it up. I lost track of time; it could have hours, days, or years, for all I knew. All that I was aware of was the fire that raged within me. The man said that this was the only way to keep me alive. If that's true, then I would rather die. I'd never wish this pain on anyone else, even if they were my worst enemy.

After what seemed like forever, the fire inside seemed to lessen in pain; though it was still quite painful. I felt it start to recede from the tips of my fingers and toes. I felt life in them again. I tried flexing my finger. There was the smallest bit of movement. I felt the fire retreating from the ends of my body, toward my chest area. My heart was thudding loudly, and its heartbeats were getting timed closer together. My heart and the fire within me seemed to be locked in a struggle for domination. The fire was receding to one point in my body: the little muscular organ in the body that never stops working while the body is alive. The pain in my chest seemed to intensify while my heart continued to beat with ever increasing rapidity. All at once, I seemed to reach a climax and pain in my chest started to disappear. My heart was slowing down, too. The beats were getting slower and weaker with each beat. Finally, my heart stopped in mid-beat. There was silence.

What had just happened? How was I still alive? I knew I was, for I could think; and I could breath. I hoped I was not some sort of zombie.

I flexed my arm; and it worked perfectly. I took a deep breath of air and opened my eyes.

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><p><strong>Well, what did you think? I tried to spell and punctuate correctly. So if you liked write and tell. I have the anonymous reviews turned on, so yeah.<strong>


	2. Explanations

**Hey guys, how is everyone doing? I thought I'd upload the new chapter because I know you guys really wanted it. Hey, um, I have to warn you here. I have a rather short attention span concerning fanfics. I have a huge number of them on my computer that never got finished and are simply just sitting there. So please just remind me from time to that you guys actually like this story. Remember, a writer writes for the approval of his audience. Anyway, hope you like and enjoy!**

**P.S. Some of you were wondering when this story takes place in Twilight timeline. I figured I would make about two years after _Breaking Dawn_. _The Last Olympian_ and _Breaking Dawn_ coincide with each other. **

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><p>The first thing I noticed as I woke up was how clear everything looked. I see practically everything: dust specks, microscopic details of the walls and ceiling, and the various light spectrums. The last one surprised me the most. I could see almost perfectly in the dimly lit room; and could even see UV rays.<p>

Huh. How strange.

I took a deep breath, and found that I could literally taste the different scents in the room. The most predominant scent in the room was a sweet lavender. I noticed a body-size mirror hanging on the wall few feet away from me. The second I thought about standing in front of it, I was. It seemed my body responded instantly to my thoughts.

This was getting weirder and weirder with every passing moment.

I almost did a double take when I saw myself in the mirror. I'm not vain, or narcissistic by any means, but I knew beauty when I saw it. And I was beautiful.

I was also noticeably taller, maybe about 6'3 or so. My skin much more paler than it had been before, but it still held a slight tan. My hair, which had always been a sort of brownish black, was now pure onyx. My face was perfectly aligned: high cheekbones, a broad forehead, and angled jaws and square chin. It looked like Michelangelo himself had chiseled it out of a block of marble. I took my shirt off to check out my wounds, and my mouth dropped. I'd always been considered a muscular sort of person back at camp, but what I had then was nothing compared to what I was now. Rippling cords of muscle were banded across my body. My ab muscles, pecs, triceps and biceps were all peaked to perfection. It was inhuman.

And as for my injuries, there was no trace they had ever existed. None whatsoever.

I frantically searched my body for signs of anything that had stayed the same, and sighed in relief as I looked at my eyes. They were the same old sea-green they had always been.

As I put my shirt back on, I noticed that my clothes were new. I sighed. It was all so confusing.

"What's going on?" I said aloud.

My voice had changed as well. It was deep and strong, like a bass singer's, but at the same time, it was soft and melodious.

I felt overwhelmed. What was going on?

As soon as I spoke, the door opened; and the man that had bitten me walked in. He was closely followed by a beautiful woman with pale skin and brown hair. Instantly, my body reacted before I could think. I sprang backwards and went into a crouch while baring my teeth. A low growl ripped through the room. I realized that it was me doing that. I was surprised at my own actions; since when did I act so ferally?

The man stepped forward and raised his hands in a sign of peace.

"Wait, I'm not here to hurt you."

I stopped growling to listen.

I asked, "Who are you, then?"

"My name is Carlisle Cullen, and this is my wife, Esme," he replied.

I looked at the two of them cautiously.

"Please," Esme asked me, "would you come with us to the living room? All will explained there, I promise. "

I looked at her. She smiled at me in return. It was a very gentle and motherly smile. I was instantly reminded of my own mother. She had smiled like that.

I nodded at her.

"This way, please," Carlisle led.

The door of my room led out to a richly decorated hallway. Tapestries and paintings were hung on the walls. A thick crimson colored carpet lay on the floor. There were several doors that led off on either side the of the hallway. At the end of hall there was a dark wood staircase. Carlisle gestured towards it with his hand. As we walled down the hall, I wondered what was going on, and who these people were. But the biggest question on my mind was: what the heck happened to me?

We came to the end of the hall. Carlisle and Esme stepped forward and started to walk down the stairs. I followed them.

The room at the bottom was lavishly decorated. It was very big, with a huge white furry rug spread out over a hardwood floor. There were many leather pieces of furniture decorating the room. Sitting in and on them were several people. All of them possessed an ethereal beauty that seemed inhuman. All were pale skinned and gold eyed. As soon I came into the room, all conversation died down as their attention focused squarely on me.

Carlisle walked to the center of the room and said, "Percy, I know you must have many questions, but allow me to introduce my family to you first."

He gestured to a couple sitting on a love seat.

"This is, Edward, and his wife Bella."

Edward was a young looking man with pale features and bronze hair. He gave me a light smile, but I sensed a feeling frustration rolling off of him. I wondered what was his problem was. His wife was much nicer. She was a very beautiful woman with dark brown hair and dark red and gold eyes. She gave me a friendly smile.

Carlisle turned to another couple sitting on a couch.

"This is Emmett, and his wife, Rosalie," introduced Carlisle.

Emmett was a huge bear of a man, physically enormous. Emmett had ruggedly handsome features and short black hair. He looked imposing, but he had a twinkle in his eyes that suggested a mischievous and laid-back nature. His wife, Rosalie, was an another very beautiful woman with blond hair and light gold eyes. She stared at me with a cold and slightly hostile expression. If I wasn't a good fighter, I might have been a little intimidated.

Carlisle turned to the last set of people in the room; a blond haired man, and a short woman with pixie-like features and black hair.

Carlisle started to speak, but woman stepped forward before he could.

"I'm Alice," she said with a very disarming smile, "and is Jasper, my boyfriend, slash on and off husband."

I cracked a smile. I couldn't help it; it was too funny. Jasper didn't seem to like that, though.

"Now that we have the introductions out of the way, I'm sure you have some questions for us, Percy," Carlisle gave a professer-like smile that reminded me of Paul.

I nodded.

"First off, what are you people? You're not humans, that's for sure," I asked.

Carlisle nodded, "You are correct. We're not humans, though we were preceding our transformation. We are in fact vampires."

Vampires.

I stared at him for moment and then asked, "Like, 'Underworld'?"

They burst out laughing.

"Not exactly," Carlisle replied, still finding my question vastly amusing.

"A lot of the stories that humans have populated about vampires are actually false," he continued, "we aren't allergic to sunlight, though we do have a reaction to it, and we don't enslave were-wolves and keep them as guards. We aren't repelled by crosses or garlic; and yes, we can enter your homes without your permission."

I suppose I could understand that. After all, there are some myths are true and some aren't.

"So what is true about vampires?" I asked curiously.

Edward answered this time.

"We drink blood as our sustenance. We cannot digest food; if we swallow it, it will come right back up later. We won't die if we don't drink, but we'll eventually degrade into mindless creatures until we drink again. If our body parts are severed, we can reattach them back to our bodies again. Our skin is harder than rock, the only thing that can pierce it is our own teeth and the teeth of were-wolves. It also sparkles like diamonds in the sun. That was the reaction my father spoke of. We are thousands of times stronger and faster than humans, it would nothing for us to lift a car off the ground or run at over a hundred mile per hour. And we don't sleep. Not ever. "

I was blown away. Everything he told was extremely intriguing, and I did want to hear more, but a lingering question in my mind kept distracting me until I gave voice to it.

"Does this mean I'm all of that now?" I asked in a soft voice.

"Yes," Carlisle replied.

I bowed my head and tried to take it all in. In an ironic twist of fate, I was now the monster; I was now the killer. I didn't ask for this, and I didn't want; even if it did give me extraordinary powers. All I wanted was to live a simple life, settle down somewhere, raise a family, live to a long age and die happily. Well, I was going to live a long life, that was for sure; it just didn't necessarily mean I'd live a happy what about all my friends?...

"Percy?" Esme broke my thoughts, "I know this is hard to take in, but you don't have to feel like you're a monster; because I know you're not."

I raised my head and stared at her. As much as I wanted to believe her, I couldn't. I would long to kill other people. If those violent and evil thoughts were not those of a monster's, then I really didn't know what were.

You don't know that. You don't know anything about me."

I inwardly winced at how harsh that sounded. But the words were still true.

"I know that you care. And I know that you're kind and gentle," she answered firmly.

"Percy, a monster isn't defined by their species alone," Carlisle continued, "Take Hitler for instance. He was an evil man that did many terrible things to others. He was a monster, not because he had razor sharp teeth, or long claws—he didn't—but because his heart was wicked. You could be extremely ugly. Be utterly physically repulsive, but if your heart's pure, you wouldn't be a monster. The point I'm making is that you are what you choose to be. You can choose to be evil, or you can choose live your life with others in mind."

I took all of this in. What he said made sense. And he was right, I was what I chose to be.

"Thank you, Carlisle for giving me that advice; I needed to hear that. And now I think it's time for me to be equally honest with you."

Carlisle looked at me with interest. He nodded for me to continue. I took a deep breath of air and spoke.

"Before I became a vampire, I wasn't fully mortal. My mother was, but my father wasn't."

Everyone's attention was riveted on me.

"Have you ever heard of the Olympians? You know; Zeus, Poseidon, Ares? Well, they weren't just myths."

"Wait, wait, wait," Emmett cut in. "Are you saying that all the Ancient Greek myths are real?"

I raised an eyebrow at him. "Are you sure vampires don't burn in the sun?"

He grinned,"Touché."

"Anyway," I continued, "the Greek gods are real. Just because people stopped believing in their existance, doesn't mean they stopped existing. What they personified still exists to this day. Things like the sun, the sky, and the sea. All that exists; so they do too. And the thing that these gods and goddesses did the most, and still do, was to go down and have affairs with mortals. I am the product of one of these such visits."

All the people in the room stared at me with shock. All except Alice, who simply smiled as if she'd been waiting for me to say that.

Edward plied, "So you're a demigod?"

"I _was _a demigod; I have no idea what I am now," I answered.

"Who is your father?" queried Carlisle.

"Poseidon."

The Cullens looked at me for a several minutes, each of them wondering whether or not to believe me. Finally, Rosalie stood up with an angry expression written on her face.

"Why should I believe you? Any of us for that matter. None of us have ever seen any monsters from your mythology, or heard of anything that proves you right."

As she was speaking, I willed the water molecules in the air to condense into a ball above her head. It was a sphere half a foot in diameter and chilled to an icy consistency. I smirked and let it drop on her head, soaking her clothes. She let out a shriek of surprise and then glared furiously at me.

"You soaked me!" she yelled.

I tilted my head at her.

"You wanted proof, you got it," I replied.

Emmett made to say something, but before he could, I snapped my fingers and willed the water on her body to dissipate back into the air.

I turned to the rest of the Cullens. "Do any of you remember the series of freak storms that raced across America two years ago?"

A few heads nodded.

"Well, that was actually a giant monster named Typhoon ravaging his way across America toward New York City. And the year before that, when Mt. St. Helen's erupted? Well, that was me."

This got some raised eyebrows.

"You did that?"

"Jeez, and I thought I was destructive!"

"That explosion caused the evacuation of over half a million people in surrounding area. Impressive."

"And finally," I addressed Rosalie, "why would I lie to you? That is not a logically course of action; especially considering my current circumstances. And if I did choose to lie to you, don't you think I would have probably chosen something a little more easier for you to believe?"

Jasper spoke up, "He's not lying, I can tell."

That seemed to convince them. They leaned back in their chairs and stared at me with calculative looks. Rosalie gave a spiteful look, but I didn't really care.

"There's still one thing missing," Bella spoke for the first time, "when humans are turned into vampires, their eyes undergo a color change. It changes from whatever color it was before to a bright and vivid red. This is due to the amount of blood still flowing in their bodies. Your own did not. Why?"

I pondered her question for a few moments.

"I belief know the answer," I finally told her, "a demigod's blood is a mixture of mortal blood and ichor, which is the life blood of the immortals. The scent this mixture produces is extremely attractive to monsters. For this reason, that might be the answer to your question of why my eye color stayed the same."

"A truly interesting theory," Carlisle spoke with fascination in his voice.

"I have a question," Edward said to me, "when a vampire experiences the transformation, most of the memories previously acquired fade. However, this does not seem to be the case for you. How much do you remember?"

I hadn't really thought about how much I remembered, but when I considered his words, I became dumbstruck. They say everything you ever do is recorded by your brain, the problem is in retrieval. Now everything was crystal clear. Everything that I ever said, did, or saw, I could recall with astonishing ease.

"Everything," I answered.

"Everything?" Edward repeated, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that I could tell you the color of the t-shirt that I wore on my first day at kindergarten; the favorite song of my best friend in the third grade, and every word that Leslie Brunner, the meanest girl in the first grade, said to me before she kissed me."

They looked at me incredulous expressions.

"That's not a normal thing, is it?" I guessed.

"As far as I have seen, you are the first," Carlisle replied.

Great. I guess I was a freak everywhere I went.

Silence reigned in the room. Emotionally, I was spread out all over the place. Where was my life was headed after this? And where was I going to live now? I couldn't go back to camp; They would never accept a blood-thirsty monster. I'd never be trusted. I'd be like a wasp in the room, always there and never knowing when it would strike next.

And there was also Annabeth. Just thinking her name set me ablaze with passion. My feelings for Annabeth had intensified tremendously when I changed. She was the sun, the moon, and the stars to me. I would do anything for her, say anything for her, and be anything for her. If I lost her, I could never love another again. And now, the thought of losing her made my body react violently. But I had to let her go for her own good. I was just too dangerous for her to be around me.

Esme, noticing my pained look, broke my turbulent train of thoughts and asked me if I was alright.

"Oh, I'm fine," I lied, "listen, I really want to thank you and Carlisle for all you've done for me, I'm indebted to you both."

"In preserving the life of another, that it is saved is a just enough reward that requires no farther payment," Carlisle returned.

"Even still, I'm grateful two you both," I said.

"Percy," Esme asked me, "do you want to use a phone or a computer to contact your mother? I'm sure she must be worried."

"She's dead," I said flatly.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she looked contrite.

I immediately felt bad. I didn't make sound like that.

"Oh, don't be," I hastened to explain, "it wasn't your fault. She died in a car accident two years ago in New York with her husband Paul."

Esme looked at me with sympathy in her eyes.

She asked, "Where did you live then?"

"At a camp specifically designed for demigods. It has magically boundaries that keeps out monsters."

She seemed to silently converse with her husband. After a few minutes she turned to me.

"Percy," she had a hopeful look written on her face, "would you consider living with us?"

I was overwhelmed. Here I was, a complete stranger, and she was already treating me like one of her own. Nobody had ever treated me like that, except for my mother. I think that if could cry, I would.

"I don't know what to say."

"Then just say yes," Carlisle said, looking at me with a smile.

I looked at the rest of the Cullen family. They were looking at me with expectation and and hope. What did I have to lose? No one would accept me now, and I would gain a lot of enemies if I returned to camp. And my parents were dead; killed because of me. Annabeth…. Oh Annabeth. I was torn. I wanted to be with her more than anything, but I knew that that could never happen. The best was for her to move on, even though I never would. The next best thing I could do was find happiness with the Cullens.

I made my decision.

"I accept," I said.

Most of the Cullen family beamed at me. Emmett bounded over and clapped me on the shoulder; grinning all the while. Rosalie looked annoyed, but seemed to have resigned to having me around her. Edward smiled, looked at me in a calculative way, as if something about me threw him off.

"Welcome to the family, Percy," Alice said with a perky smile.

I smiled at them. It felt really good to be part of a family and have a home. Even though demigods are supposed to be a family and stick together and all that, I always felt alone. Now standing here, and being surrounded by people who genuinely wanted me, well, I had not felt this way since before my mother died.

Just then, the burning sensation in the back of my throat that I'd tried to ignore started to make itself more known. I felt parched, like I hadn't had water in days. I tried swallowing, but that wasn't working anymore. Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore.

"Esme," I asked, "could I please have a glass of water, or something something else to drink? I'm really thirsty for some reason."

She looked at me in horror and guilt; for which I couldn't understand why.

"Oh, I'm so sorry; we should have done that first!"

"Done what first?"

"Gone hunting," Emmett said with a grin.

I recoiled from them. The thought of murdering people for food was extremely repulsive to me.

"Don't worry," Carlisle assured me, "we aren't hunting humans. During my early days as a vampire, I discovered that animal blood is just as sustaining as human blood. It's just that humans smell more appealing to us than animals do. But killing an animal over a human is much easier on the conscience."

I heaved a sigh of relief. I didn't really like the idea of killing anything, but if I did have to, I'd rather it be an animal than a human.

"I'm sure Jasper and Emmett will be more than happy to accompany you," Carlisle gestured to the two.

"I'm coming too," Edward spoke up, "just in case something goes wrong," he gave as explanation.

I shrugged. I really didn't care if the whole family came along; I was just interested in getting rid of the burning in my throat.

Emmett looked at me with a glint in his eye.

"Let's see what you can do."


	3. Hunting

**Sorry for the late update everyone, but school is hell. And I've been really busy lately too. But anyway, back to the story. I want to answer some questions posed by a few of my reviewers. **

**First off: I'm a guy. Come on, is really that hard to tell? Man, I've _got_ to cut down on the girly writing. And I'm not gay either; I just have a thing for angst. **

**Yes I have heard of the curse of Achilles. I'm writing the story as if it follows the _Heros of Olympus _series. Hope that clears up why Percy was able to be injured. **

**Um, Percy is a vampire now. Although a demigod vampire, I'm still writing him according to the canon rules laid down by Ms. Meyer about vampires. Yes, he does sparkle in the sun.**

**I'm having not too much involvement of the gods in this story. They just mess things up.**

**For any that did not get the memo, this is a Percy/Annabeth story, or Percabeth, as it is called among PJO fans. All the rest of the pairings will be canon. **

**I hope that you will enjoy this chapter; read and review!**

* * *

><p>As I wallked outside, I glanced back at the the house. It was a large three story mansion, with yellow paint and lots of windows. The windows were divided into several panes by a painted white wood. Some distance away from the house, about a hundred yards, was a flowing river. I judged the distance across and estimated it to be fifty yards. Completely surrounding the house was forest land. Acres and acres of pine trees as far as the eyes could see—and my eyes could see very far indeed.<p>

Jasper and Emmett came up to me.

"Pretty, isn't it?" Emmett remarked.

"It's breathtaking," I agreed in awe.

"We're going hunting in that area of the forest," they told me, pointing to a thickly wooded area that lay to the north, "the best animals are always in there."

I walked to the riverbank. There was no bridge or boat anywhere in sight. I wasn't too perturbed, I could always swim across. But I wondered what the others were going to do.

"You're going to love this," said Emmett, who was standing beside me.

Together we watched as Jasper stood at the riverbank and leaped into the air. I was astonished when he flew nearly fifty feet up and landed smoothly on the opposing embankment without a sound. Emmett followed his brother's example, though his ascention was a little higher than Jasper's; about ten feet more. Edward, who I hadn't realized was behind me, did the same thing.

They all stood on the other side of the river, looking at me like they wanted me to see what sort of show I would put on.

I did not really feel comfortable doing all of that as I still had not tested myself yet. But there was another way I could get across.

I walked up to the edge of the river and stepped into it. The water felt cool to my bare feet, though I knew that it was really freezing cold. The new skin I'd acquired was immune to cold teperatures, though apparently not to hot. A sense of invigoration enveloped me and world seemed clearer. The burning in my throat faded away. I opened my eyes to see the others looking at me with expectance and interest.

I smirked. If they wanted a show, then they would get one.

I casually strolled out onto the river, making no more of it than if I were taking a walk in New York Central Park. As I moved, I willed the water to harden and condense beneath my feet. When I reached the other side, I nearly laughed at their expressions of astonishment and incredulity.

The moment I stepped out of the river however, I felt the affects of the water leave me. The burning in my throat came back with full force.

"Are you alright?" asked Emmett.

"I'm fine," I replied, "I just need to drink soon."

"Well, we will soon have that remedied," Jasper said, "come on."

They ran off. I took a deep breath—more out of instinct than need really— and burst into a full-out sprint, tearing through the woods. I caught up with the others and passed them faster than they could see.

There are almost no words able to discribe how thrilling and exhilarating It was to run through the forest. Although I was rocketing through it at dizzying speeds, I could still sense every detail of the woods. The green of the pines. The soft mossy carpet that covered the ground. The smell of the forest underbrush. I ran without trepidation or hesitation.

As I ran, I leaped and ducked over low branches, but a few still caught me, tearing my expensive clothes to rags. Because of the force and speed at which I was running, my body would have soon been a mass of shredded and cut up flesh due to the sharp prickly pine branches that whipped across me. However, with my new embodiment, the branches felt like soft and feathery touches to my skin.

I stopped running as I realized I'd left the others far behind. They appeared before me a second later.

"Dang it, kid," exclaimed Emmett, "you're too fast for me."

"He's a newborn," Edward commented, "he'll be fast for a while."

I was about to make a reply, when I caught something in the air. The scent was absolutely delicious. It was like I had walked into a field of roses and poppie flowers. I felt my eyes dilate and tasted something wet pooling in my mouth. It was venom. My body reacted involuntarily, and I found myself sprinting toward the smell in full predator mode. I heard shouts of alarm behind me, but I ignored them and continued on my way.

I followed the scent until I came upon a small clearing that was about forty meters in diameter. A small camping tent was set up at the center of the perimeter; with a campfire burning low. From inside the tent came the sounds of people moving. I smelled the air and guessed that there were two people here, a man and a woman. Like vampires, human males and females both give off differentiating pheromones, though distinct and individual, they all contained a similarity when it came to their gender. From the smell of sex in the air, the two inside the tent were most likely a couple.

I inhalled and the burning in my throat painfully intensified as I smelled the blood in the air. Their current activities were causing their heart rate to increase, thus the whole area was permeated with the sweet smell of their body fluids. It would be so easy to snap their necks and drain them. I felt something inside me stir at that thought, something malicious and evil. It was that part of me which was predoratory. It urged me to make the kill and quench my burning thirst. Half of my brain was already planning the kill; calculating the time it would take to drain the humans, and how far away the others were from me. I knew it would only take a few seconds, and I would make sure it was quick enough that they didn't have time to feel any pain or fear.

I was ready to put my murderous plan into action when I realized where my hideous line of thought was taking me. I grew sick and clenched my fists in repulsion and self-anger. I was better than this! I knew I was! If I did this horrible act of murder, I really would be a monster deserving of death. And beyond that, what would the Cullens think of me? How would I be able to look Carlisle in the face? To see it filled with disappointment and dispair? The evil part of me urged me to ignore that; telling me that I didn't know them enough to care whether or not they were proud or disappointed in me. But that was not true. Although I'd only known them for a short time, I was already wanting them to accept me, wanting their pride and admiration of me. I couldn't do this. Not to them. I refused to be a murderer and a killer. The monstrous side of me growled in anger, but I kept it down.

The others burst into the clearing a few seconds later; their expressions were ones of people arriving too late upon a tragedy. When they saw me, and the unharmed people in the tent, they looked at me in confusion and astonishment. The question written on their faces was plain: why hadn't I killed the humans yet?

Just then, the man emerged from the tent. He was average looking, with blond hair and blue eyes, not really tall or handsome, and looked to be about thirty-five to forty years old. He wasn't wearing a shirt and looked slightly flushed, which confirmed my indications that we'd interupted some, ah, private activities. A moment later, a middle-aged woman with a slightly body stepped out of the tent behind him. She was also blond-haired and blue-eyed. When she saw our faces, her heartbeat quickened and her face grew flush.

I groaned internally. She was _so _not helping. I resolved myself not to breath.

"Can we help you?" the man asked us. The tone in his voice suggested that he was more than a little annoyed with our intrusion.

Edward and Emmett moved on both sides of me. To the humans, it appeared to be an innocent enough gesture, but I knew what it really meant. They would not hesitate to stop me if things got out of hands.

"No, we're fine," Edward answered, "we were hunting, and accidently stumbled across this clearing."

The answer seemed to satisfy the man.

Emmett spoke, "Sorry to bother you, we'll leave you two alone now. Oh," he continued as we were about to leave, "a word of warning? It might be wise if you left the area; this part of the state has some very dangerous predators. Why, I even got mauled by a bear a few years ago."

The woman was visibly shaken.

"Maybe we will take your advice;" she said, "it was Jerry's idea," she pointed the man, "to come this far west. I'd wanted to spend the weekend shopping in Olympia, but noooo, he has says that it will be much more fun if we went camping instead; get out into the wild, breath fresh air. Well, I didn't want to, and now we are, attacked by wild animals."

The woman started to drone on about how she'd been dragged along on this trip, and how much she would rather have stayed home and watched her favorite cooking show, even though she couldn't cook, and say, did we know that she had a girlfriend-not _that _type of girlfriend; she means, that would be so, like, gay and strange-that would just love to get her hooks into one of us?

I felt sorry for the guy.

The thought of killing her was starting to sound appealing again, so I cut in on her before she could give me her friend's number.

"No thank you," I said in a very curt tone, even for me, "we'll be on our way."

The three of us turned abrubtly and walked out of the clearing as fast as humanly possible.

As I walked farther and farther away from the clearing, the strength of the scent started to wear off, and my head cleared more with each and every step. I was so ashamed of myself. I'd come so close to killing them, from becoming what I feared I'd someday become: a monster. It was on days like this, I wished Annabeth was with me.

"You did good," Jasper said, turning around suddenly, " very good. To be thirsty and resist is something that's hard for us as older vampires to do; for a newborn it's nearly impossible. As far as I know, that's only happened twice."

Edward continued, "Carlisle and Bella. We believe that for Bella, it was the knowledge and the anticipation of being turned; it gave her time to think about what she was going to do. It gave her a sense of rules that her mind seemed to follow, even after the transformation. And as for Carlisle, well, he's always had the extremely good ability of holding back."

"I'd say, be proud of yourself; I don't think I had a third as much of your resistance when I was a newborn," Emmett put his two cents in.

"But I still wanted to kill them," I argued, "even now, a part of me wants to go back and drain them."

"That's the monster within us, Percy," Edward replied, "we all have that urge inside us. In fact, all humans do too. That urge has sometimes manifested as great acts of evil doing. Take Hitler for instance. Just remember: it's what we do with that temptation, that's what matters. Do we take the easy route, and give in; or do we resist and try to do what's right? That's the real question. You did the right thing; you've got nothing to be ashamed of."

Wow, he seemed a lot nicer than when we first met. Maybe I'd earned his respect in this latest incident or something.

"Um, thanks," I said awkwardly.

I don't really like getting praises, they always make me feel uncomfortable; and especially when they're undeserved. Whatever they said, I knew I was still a monster.

Emmett seemed to get the drift, 'cause he then said loudly, "Come on, we still haven't drank yet; and Percy's eyes are getting darker with thirst."

We all agreed and started to run again, and this time I ran with the rest of them.

The sun had set and night was starting to fall when we found something.

Unlike humans, a vampire's superb eyesight does not decrease with darkness; we can even still see fine in pitch-black nights. I was absolutely amazed at how much I had been missing out as a human compared to being a vampire. As we were running, I noticed that my senses had tuned themselves to the hunt without my knowledge. A part of my brain was constantly checking the air for blood, automatically avoiding trees and obstacles in my path, and keeping a close watch on my thirst. It was unnerving to think of how proficient I'd become at killing. Of course, this had also bothered me when I was still a human; training at camp to be a swordsman.

My thoughts were interupted when I smelled the scent of blood in the air. It was not half as appealing as the humans' had been, but blood it still was, and I was thirsty. The beating of the creature's heart resounded loudly through the woods. At least it sounded to me like that. The creature was close by. I could tell because the sound of its heart was getting louder and louder.

I looked at my companions and saw they had noticed the animal too. We were carefully maneuvering around the trees when I finally saw it.

It was a bear. A huge grizzly bear.

The bear was male, had thick shaggy dark brown fur, and looked to be about six feet tall when it stood on its hind legs. It's eyes were black and a row of menacingly sharp teeth lined its mouth. An impressive looking animal if ever I saw one. It was upwind of us and hadn't caught our scent yet.

I heard someone behind me whisper something, but I couldn't quite make it out.

"_Let…take…it…mauled…bear…_ "

I turned to the others.

"Emmett, did you say something?"

He looked startled. "No, I didn't. Why?"

"Umm," I was confused now. I was pretty sure I'd heard someone say something. "Ah, it's nothing I guess. I just thought I heard you say something to Edward just now."

He exchanged looks with Edward. "No, I didn't say anything. Anyways, we are going to let you take this one; you are a newborn and the thirstiest of us all."

I didn't argue. I was just too thirsty to be polite.

I in breathed the scent of the animal and let my instincts take over. The hair on my nape stood up. I bared my teeth and growled lowly. I moved closer to the bear. I was going catch him off guard and snap his neck when he wasn't looking.

Suddenly, the wind changed direction. Our scent was carried downwind.

The bear stopped his lumbering, looked up and saw me.

Oh great. There goes the surprise attack.

He stood up on his hind legs and roared out a challenge. I stared at him. I'd misjudged his height. He was even bigger than I'd thought; about eight feet tall. He weighed at least a good thousand pounds, maybe more. Adrenaline was causing the bear's heartbeat to increase. There were gallons and gallons of blood inside the beast.

I was working myself into a frenzy seeing all that delicious blood pumping through his body. With a growl, I launched myself at the grizzly.

He clearly wasn't expecting me to run at him; much less attack.

The bear stumbled backwards and crashed to the ground as he took the full impact of my body. Now on top of it, I bent my head and fastened my teeth to his neck. My incisors easily cut through the skin and flesh, tearing open his jugular. The bear roared in rage and pain, but was powerless to stop me. Hot, rich blood spilled out of his bleeding throat. My mouth automatically closed over the wound and sucked. I nearly went delirious with pleasure as the warm liquid slid down my throat. The burning in my throat eased away. It was a relief to not have that feeling anymore.

The bear, who was still alive, roared feebly as his lifeblood was drained away. He tried to shake me off, but to no avail. I just held fast and sucked faster. He then tried to slap me off. The claws tore through my new clothes and raked against my back. The bear bellowed as they made a high-pitched squeal.

Finally, I couldn't stand it anymore. I paused drinking to reach up and snap his neck. There was a resounding _crack, _and the bear went limp. Satisifed, I continued to feed until the body was drained of fluid. After I finished, I stood up and surveyed my surroundings. Emmett and Jasper were looking at me with envious expressions—they had wanted the bear, no doubt—and Edward was giving me an interested look. My throat felt relieved; though it still held a slight ache to it. Maybe more blood was what I needed.

"How long did I take?" I asked.

"About a minute and a half," Jasper replied.

One and half minutes? It seemed like much more time had passed.

"Your body drains the animals at extremely fast speeds," Edward explained, seeing my confusion, "It's how all of us are."

I looked down at the body of the bear.

"What are we supposed to do with this?" I asked, gesturing to it, "we can't leave out in the open, if some other hikers happen to come along and find this, gods know what problems would arise. It is, I think, illegal to hunt grizzlies."

Edward replied, "Throw it into the underbrush over there," he pointed to a thick patch of shrubbery some distance away.

Throw it. Throw a plus thousand pound bear twenty feet? How the heck was I supposed to budge it an inch? _Oh wait,_ I remembered, _I'm way stronger now. _But still, he had to crazy if he thought I could move something that big.

My thoughts must have been showing on my face, because he then shot me a glare and said, "You are a lot stronger than you think. Do it. You have try some time. And it's better to do it now than if we are around fragile things like houses, cars, and humans."

Well, he _did _have a point there. I could hurt someone if I didn't know my own strength. Still, that bear was pretty big. I didn't know if lift it entirely. Maybe I drag it instead or something. I hunkered down, slipped my arms underneath the bear like a pallet jack and lifted.

To my complete surprise, I was able to hoist the body with incredilble ease. I would describe it by comparing the bear to a huge pillow. Although it was very large, it weighed about as much to me as a pile of comforters. I was surprised and rather pleased with my newfound strength.

I tested the individual strength of my arms by shifting the body from one arm to the other. Both were able to fully support the weight of the bear with ease, indeed; if I were to lift three such bears with my right arm alone, I would not have much trouble doing so.

Realizing that I was dawdling, and that Emmett was casting a heavy scowl at me, I lightly tossed the bear into the area that Edward had pointed out to me. It landed with a muted thud upon the forest underbrush. I walked over to it and put some additional branches on it so as to conceal it from sight. I wasn't too worried though. The body would soon be picked clean by other wild life, and all that would be left would be a skeleton. And, if anybody happened upon that, they would surmise it died on its own, or that other predators had killed it.

I turned around and saw the others staring at me.

"What?" I asked.

Jasper shook his head. "Nothing. How are you feeling?"

"There's a slight ach in my throat, but other than that I'm fine," I answered.

Edward grunted. "We will find some more animals for you then."

"Well actually we really can't do much about that slight burning; it's something that comes with being a vampire. Your thirst doesn't go away. You just subdue it when you drink. I—"

He was interupted by Edward, who was glaring daggers at him. What was the matter?

"But drinking more blood does help ease your thirst," Edward said, countering Emmett's remark, "and that's always a good thing."

He seemed awfully insistent that I drink more blood. I was suspicious of that. I would have to keep my guard up. It's not that I didn't trust him—well, actually it was—but I'd been through so many people betraying and double-crossing me that I'd learned to keep an eye out for things like that. Besides, I found one saying to be particularly wise: Always err on the side of caution.

None of the others had drank yet, so we agreed and set out running again. We soon came across a small herd of elk. I killed two female does; Emmett killed two does and one buck; and Jasper killed one buck. Edward didn't drink, saying that he'd already hunted recently. The elks didn't taste that well, having almost a bitter flavor to them, but whatever; as long it was blood, I was fine with it.

When we finished, Edward decided that it was time to return to the house. The way he led us was different from the way we had come, but it was a considerably shorter distance back than the first way.

We arrived at the river very quickly and forded it. This time I felt confident enough in my abilities to try and jump across. I landed with surprising grace and agility. As we neared the house, I caught a different scent in the air, a scent that had not been there previously. The scent was like a mixture of human and vampire. Not quite one or the other, but a combination of the two.

Edward stepped in front of me. Jasper and Emmett flanked him. I tensed. What was going on? What was that smell?

"Percy," Edward spoke quietly, "there is someone else who lives at our home. I'd like you to meet her. Her name is Remesmee."


	4. Gifts

As we walked into the house, I noticed another scent. It was of several other vampires. They had not been there previously. I grew cautious. There was also another scent. It was disgusting, like wet dog. In fact, I could tell that the scent came from some sort of dog.

When I got to the living room, I saw the newcomers. There were seven of them. Sitting in the far half of the room were three females and two males. Two of the females had blond hair that reminded me of Annabeth's own strawberry blond hair. I twinged at the thought. The other female had dark brown hair. One of the two males had sandy blond hair, while the other had dark brown hair.

Seated in the other half of the room were two people whom I recognized as the originators of the peculiar scents. The one with a mixed human and vampire scent was a young girl of about ten or eleven. The other beside her was a very tall man of about twenty-five. It seemed that the disgusting doggy odor was coming from him.

The other Cullens were intermingling in the room, talking freely and animatedly to the newcomers when we arrived. So silent had been our approach, and so loudly had the others been speaking to each other, that they did not note our presence until we had stepped into the room. Instantly, all chatter ceased and their eyes flashed to me. Everyone stilled, until Carlisle moved forward to introduce me to the others.

"Ah, Percy," said Carlisle with a smile, "there are some other people here that I'd like you to meet." He motioned first to those seated in far side of the room.

"This is Eleazar," he pointed out the dark haired male.

Eleazar had the appearance of a man of about twenty-five or so, had pale skin with a slightly olive cast, and was around 5'11 in height. He had some features that looked to be Spanish.

Eleazar stood and grasped my hand, smiling warmly as he shook it. "It is my very great pleasure to meet you, Percy," he said amiably. "When we heard about the new member of the Cullen coven, we immediately decided to come for a visit. It appears like we're not to be disappointed with you either; you look like you're going to be a great addition to the Cullens' family."

There was a second meaning behind his words, but I didn't know what.

Edward stared at hard at Eleazar—seemingly trying to concentrate on something, then gave up with an expression of frustration and glared at his wife.

Carlisle moved onward to the dark-haired woman standing beside Eleazar. "This is Carmen," he said, gesturing to her, "she is Eleazar's wife."

"_Es un placer_, Percy," she said to me in perfect Spanish.

I grinned. Spanish was one the subjects I'd taken in high school. I wasn't too bad at it, if I do say so myself. "No, _señora_," I said, standing up, "_el placer es mío_." I bowed, like in those old English movies where they ask the lady to dance, and placed a kiss on her hand.

She laughed and wiggled her finger at me, saying, "You are quite the _encantador_, Percy."

Carlisle chuckled softly and moved to the next person.

"This is Garrett. He is Katrina's husband."

Garrett was a tall, rather lanky looking vampire. He was about 6'2, with long, sandy blond hair and twinkling gold eyes. His eyes were mischievious and slightly adventurous. He reminded me of a child of Hermes.

"Nice to meet you, Percy," he said cheerfully.

"Likewise," I returned, grasping his outstretched hand.

"And this Katrina," Carlisle gestured to the blond haired woman standing beside Garrett.

Katrina had long, straight blond hair, with oval features and smiling topaz eyes. Like her husband, she had the look of a troublemaker.

"Call me Kate," she said and shook my hand.

She held it for a few seconds longer than necessary; a faint look of concentration masking her face.

"Kate!" admonished Bella, "Stop that!"

"What's going on?" I asked in confusion, removing my hand from Kate's.

"Oh, Kate is just trying to mess with you," Emmett said to me.

Carlisle continued with the introdutions before I could ask Emmett what he meant by that.

"And finally, this is Tanya."

Tanya was a short one, about 5'5, with long, wavy, strawberry blond hair. She looked to be about twenty or twenty-one, and was breathtakingly beautiful. Even for a vampire. She was probably the best-looking of the newcomers.

Tanya gave me grin that I knew in an instant. I'd been given many of those by girls as I walked through the mortal world, which was swiftly followed by a glare from Annabeth. Although I did not have any interest in her, I had to say it: she pulled a smile off quite nicely.

"Hello, Percy," she purred, sidling up to me, "I'm Tanya."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward roll his eyes at Tanya.

"Uh," I backtracked, "hello."

Carlisle cleared his throat pointedly and said, "They are the Denali coven. They live in Alaska and are the only other animal blood drinkers besides us."

The Denalis were five in all. There were two other unintroduced people in the room.

Edward stood. "Percy," he said, staring intently at me, "this is my daughter, Renesmee." He motioned his hand in the general direction of the doggy-scented man and the girl.

The girl, whom I assumed was Renesmee, was absolutely and undeniably beautiful. Bronze hair, like Edward's, framed a heart-shaped face. Twin chocolate orbs, positioned beneath two delicate eyebrows, cast a piercing gaze at me. I would have said she was a vampire, albeit a young one, if it were not for her eyes. There was an innocent quality to her, but I knew that when she grew up, she would be one of the most stunning women in existance.

Instead of talking, she stood and walked over to me. She placed her hand on my arm. Instantly, an image Renesmee waving and smiling at me flashed through my mind.

"Hello," I replied out loud, "Say, that's pretty cool, how do you do it?"

Renesmee shrugged. "I just can," she said.

"What are you?" I asked curiously, "You have a heartbeat, and I can hear the blood flowing in your veins, but you smell like a vampire. Are you some other breed of vampire?"

"Sort of," she answered quietly, "I'm a hybrid, half-human, half-vampire."

"So you're a Dhampir?" I asked.

"That is somewhat of a human myth," said Edward. "In legend, dhampirs are boneless, without nails, and have long ears. As you can see, Renesmee has none of those traits. Although there are some truth to those tales: certain male vampires, called incubus, would find human females attractive and would mate with them. Now the number of women left alive after intercourse would have been slim; bloodlust is mixed with lust, and the vampire would usually drain his victims afterwards. There were a few that they did not, however. These became pregnant, bearing half-vampire, half-human children. From this come the legend of Dhampirs."

"And what of the mothers; did they become vampires?" I asked.

"The pregnancy would nearly always kill them," said Edward. "A hybrid vampire will tear its way from its mother's womb; a terribly fatal wound. Bella is the only known survivor of this process."

I frowned. "How is she alive?" I asked.

"I injected her with venom, which healed her body and turned her into a vampire," said Edward.

That was interesting. I filed the bit of information away for future reference.

The doggy-smelling man stepped forward with a slight smile. "Hi," he said in rather deep voice, "I'm Jacob Black, but most of my friends call me Jake."

"It's a pleasure," I returned, and shook his hand. I was almost afraid I'd crush it, but Jake didn't show any pain or discomfort.

"Well, now that we've the pleasantries out of the way, let's get down to business," Carlisle said smoothly.

"Very well," I nodded.

"Now, Percy," began Carlisle, "before I begin, you need to know a few more facts about vampires. All humans have something special about them. Something that is unique because only they have it. There is no one else in the world that is like them or has their exact abilities. When a human is changed into a vampire, we take with us that unique ability. Becoming a vampire amplifies every part of a human. We become stronger, faster, and far more in touch with our animalistic senses. There is one other part of humans that is also amplified when we are changed. Can you guess what?"

"Our special ability?" I answered.

"Yes," Carlisle replied, "that is correct. Sometimes this ability is rather insignificant, like having a calming disposition, or a higher degree of control, or something of the like. But other times, there are some who develop very powerful abilities. We call these abilities 'talents.'"

"Do you have a talent?" I asked him.

"I wouldn't call it a talent, it's more of a habit, but I have a high resistance to human blood. It is not a particularly flashy or showy gift, but is does allow me to do many things other vampires cannot."

"Like what?"

"I am a doctor by profession. I can be in a room full of bleeding people, but still be unaffected by the smell."

"No offense, but why are you a doctor? I mean, you could obviously be anyone you wish to be with your, uh, 'habit.'"

"None taken," he smiled. "I think the greatest reason is I like to help people. I take great pleasure out of knowing that lives are better because of me. It helps to give me a purpose, and a reason to continue living, without which I think life would be considerably dreary."

In that moment, I decided something. I wanted to be like Carlisle. I wanted to know that because I lived, lives were better.

"I'm sorry," I said after a moment. "I keep changing the subject."

"Do not worry about it; on the contrary, it shows you are curious, and that is nearly always good," said Carlisle. "But getting back to the subject at hand, most vampires do not have any special gifts or powers, besides our basic vampire abilities. But there are a select few that are created with amazing and extraordinary powers."

"Such as?" I prompted.

"Well, Edward here," Carlisle motioned to Edward, "is a psychic. He can read minds."

My eyebrows shot up in surprise. So _that_ explains why he seemed to know what everyone was thinking. Could he read my mind?

"No, I cannot read your mind, Percy," Edward smiled.

"But you—"

"Your thoughts were all over face. Anyone could tell what you were thinking."

"Oh," I replied. I thought for a moment. "Why cannot you read my mind?"

"I suspect it has something to do with your demigod nature," said Edward. "I can feel it—your mind, that is—I know it's there, but I cannot read it. It's like there's a wall or barrier between your mind and mine."

I thought about it. Now that he mentioned it, I had been feeling a slight pressure on my mind, but it was so miniscule that I had not registered it. My mind seemed to react to the pressure instinctively, hardening my "wall" and resisting the mental intrusion. How odd.

"I cannot read Bella's mind either. But hers is a little different. I cannot feel it or sense it; it's like she is not there. Her talent is the ability to resist any mental power. She can also extend this protection to others."

I felt the corners of my mouth lift. "So one can read minds, the other can block them?" I shook my head. "What a pair."

Emmett let out a barking laugh. "I know, right?"

Edward scowled. "I'll have you know my wife is perfect; I wouldn't want her any other way."

"Easy, Eddie," Emmett grinned. "He didn't mean anything."

Edward crossed his arms and glared at Emmett. "Don't call me Eddie."

Carlisle chose to intervene before the squabble went any further.

"Alright, alright. But as I was saying, between our coven and the Denali coven, we have some people with particularly interesting and powerful talents. I will have everyone in the room with special abilities come forward and tell you a little about their talent."

Alice jumped up. "Okay," she giggled, "I have the talent of Precognition, which is to say, I can see the future. But it depends on decisions, so like, if you made a decision, and I saw the future for that choice, if you changed your mind, then the first future wouldn't matter."

I didn't react. After Edward and Bella, I was convinced that pretty much anything they told me I could trust. After all, who was I to talk?

"Well, that explains why you always seem to know what I'm going to say," I remarked.

She pouted. "Aren't you going to say something? Like "That's so cool!" or "Awesome!"?

"That's so cool; awesome," I grinned and repeated in a monotone voice.

"Well, see if I stop you from running into a tree next time you go hunting," Alice sniffed.

"Actually, I doubt I'd run into a tree; vampire senses and all," I couldn't keep the smirk out of my voice.

I heard her mutter "smarty pants," under her breath.

Bella stood up and kindly smiled at me. "As Edward told you, I'm a shield. I can create a shield of mental protection that can resist mental powers of all kinds."

"Like what?" I asked her.

"Well, at this moment, I'm shielding the minds of everyone in this room from Edward."

Edward looked slightly miffed as she mentioned it. "It's not like they're not used to it."

Alice chimed," It's called politeness, Edward. Sometimes we like having our thoughts to ourselves."

Edward harrumphed annoyedly, but didn't say anything.

Bella sat back down on Edward's lap and he put his arms around her. It sort of reminded me of when Annabeth would sometimes just plop down on my lap and fall asleep. She would do that when she was tired… I shook my head. I didn't need to think about those things, they only made my pain worse. Just then, I felt a sort of peaceful feeling creep through me. It wasn't natural, but I didn't fight it.

Jasper smiled at me in a knowing way and got to his feet.

"What do you do?" I asked him shortly. I was still too down about Annabeth to show much politeness.

"I have the talent of Pathokiniesis, or the ability to sense and manipulate emotions."

"So was that you I felt just now?" I asked.

"Yes, it was. Really, Percy, I've gotten almost nothing but negative feelings from you. You seriously need to ease up on the angst. You'll see her again."

My jaw clenched and I fought the urge to rip his head off. How dare he mention Annabeth! I hadn't said anything because I didn't want everyone giving me pitying looks and comforting words. That never did anything except make things worse. Then I felt the familiar calm wash over me. Jasper was doing his thing again. Eventually, I calmed down enough to realize getting angry wouldn't help anything.

The others in the room looked slightly on edge at my outburst, but I really couldn't blame them.

Jasper spoke up, "I apologize, Percy, I didn't mean to aggravate old wounds."

I waved him off. "It's fine. I shouldn't get so mad at the drop of a hat either."

"Well, I'd be surprised if you didn't have some sort temper," said Jasper. "Even Bella, who was the calmest newborn I'd ever seen, lashed out at Jacob once."

He was obviously trying to make me feel better about the what I'd just did. All they did was show me kindness, and I just about attacked Jasper.

Jasper frowned at me, but didn't say anything.

Carlisle stood. "For those of us with special abilities, or talents, that is all for my coven," he said. "Of course, there are a few of us with secondary traits. Rosalie is exceptionally beautiful for a vampire, Emmett is physically stronger than other vampires, and Edward is the fastest of both our covens. But for those with exceptional talents, the Denalis will continue this discussion."

Kate grinned and stood. I backed up slightly. She had this very mischievious and rather scary smile plastered on her face. I was at a safe enough distance in case she blew up, or something like that.

"I have the ability of Mental Electric Current," she said this like it was the coolest thing ever. "I can cover myself with a with an electric current and shock others through physical contact. The strength of the shock varies by much power I put into it. It can range from a static shock to a dishabilitating jolt that will bring you to your knees."

"So, pretty much you give people heavy duty static shocks?" I asked.

Kate pouted. "You're making it sound lame," she said. "It's more like: 'You can bring people to their knees with just a touch?' Now _that's_ the proper respect my power obviously deserves."

Eleazar smiled at Kate before standing up. "I have the ability of Ability Identification," he said. "It means I can sense what the special ability of others is."

"That's pretty cool," I grinned.

"Yes, and let me tell you, it's been hard keeping to myself just what an extremely talented young man you are."

Edward huffed, "Well, if my dear wife wasn't shielding everyone right now, I'd know."

Bella just smiled sweetly.

Carlisle spoke up, "Let's not keep the others in suspense, shall we Eleazar? Go and tell them what Percy can do."

Oh great. Both of them in cahoots. I guess I couldn't hide any longer. I braced myself for Eleazar's estimate of my most likely worthless powers.

"Well, let's start with your strongest talent, shall we?"

"Strongest?" Jacob spoke up for the first time, "Does he have more than one?"

"Several, actually," Eleazar answered him. There were more than a few looks of surprise; and a few anxious ones as well.

"The first, and strongest, is Hydrokinesis. This would be the ability to manipulate water. However, there seem to be several lead-offs from this ability: enhanced strength, and enhanced healing and stamina, just to name few."

"Strength?" asked Emmett, "Like how much strength?"

"His normal strength would be easily comparable with that of a newborn's."

There was a loud gasp throughout the room.

"Um," I asked tentatively, "what's a 'newborn'?" I'd heard him mention it before, but I didn't know exactly what it was.

"A newborn," answered Jasper, "is just what the name suggests: a newborn vampire. Newborns are extremely strong and fast; much stronger than older vampires."

"So, I'm a newborn." It was a statement, not a question. Jasper still took it as one though.

"Yes, you are a newborn. And an exceptionally strong and self-controlled newborn at that."

Emmett was looking like he wanted to punch someone, so I motioned to Eleazar to continue.

"Yes, well, as I was saying, in addiction to your hydrokinetic powers, you have an array of other talents that seem to be connected to Hydrokinesis. Innate knowledge of bearings at sea, telepathic command over any kind of marine vessel, and direct communication with equine and sea creatures. You also seem to have the ability to see in infrared vision."

Emmett whistled, "Man, kid, you're loaded!"

I ignored Emmett. "Anything else, Eleazar?"

"Yes. You also have a small amount of ability in Aerokinesis, Geokinesis, and Cryokinesis."

"Uh," I said dumbly, "I have no idea what those are."

"Aerokinesis is the ability to control the air. Geokinesis is the ability to control and manipulate the earth. Cryokinesis is the ability to control snow and ice."

Oh. Well that made a little more sense. And it was true. I did have a little power in those areas, but not too much. Maybe being a vampire had enhanced me enough to have a little more strength with those abilities.

"And lastly," said Eleazar, "You have a high level of heat resistance."

"What is that supposed to mean?" asked Jasper. "All vampires are vulnerable to fire."

"Well, when I was a human, or half-human, my body was highly resistant to hot temperatures," I said.

"Like how hot?" Emmett asked, smirking with amusement.

"Well, I was once plastered with lava and didn't start burning for a few minutes. Does that count?" I asked innocently. I wished I had a camera to capture their expressions.

Edward broke the silence. "Well, it appears you will make a valuable addition to our coven," he said.

"To say the least," said Jasper. "But I think he would also make a valuable addition to another coven too."

At his words the tension in the room increased. They all seemed to know exactly what he was talking about. I am not really like Annabeth when it comes to knowing things, I do not have to know everything. But when someone says something, and everyone else except you knows what he is talking about, it is rather frustrating. And I was feeling frustrated.

The faces of the Denali Coven hardened; but Tanya's and Kate's faces seemed especially stony. Something bad had happened.

"Yes, I think he would," said Carlisle.

I was just about ready burst, when Carlisle spoke again.

"What we are speaking of is The Volturi. The Volturi are another coven, and the largest and most powerful in the vampire world. They are like royalty to vampires. They make the laws, ordinances, if you will, for vampires. They enforce them as well."

"There are rules?" I asked.

"Yes, and you must obey them, or you will die," said Jasper. "The Volturi are not forgiving: if you mess up once, you die."

"What are the rules?" I asked again.

"The first and foremost," Jasper said slowly, "is that you can never reveal yourself to humans. That is, you can never tell them your true nature. And if they do find out, they must die."

"Sounds harsh," I said.

"It is," said Edward. "But it is necessary. If humans knew of our existance, they would hunt us as we have hunted them."

"How could they?" I asked. "We are so much stronger than them."

"One-on-one, yes," said Edward. "But humans tend to be ingenious creatures; they would find a way."

I thought about it for a minute. Then I asked: "How do the Volturi enforce these laws?"

"They gather the strongest, most talented vampires and bring them into their coven," said Edward. "As most vampires do not have talents, most are defenseless against the Volturi. Think of how the Yankees keep recruiting the best rookies so they can keep on winning the World Series so many times."

"Hey, watch it! I'm a New Yorker, I take offense at that!" I snipped.

Edward's words, however, had done their part to ease the tension in the room. The vampires laughed and loosened up a bit.

"I think, though," said Carlisle more seriously, "it would be prudent to mention nothing of Percy to the Volturi. They are perturbed with our coven already; if they knew of the addition of such a strong and powerful vampire, they might act…rashly. It would be best, at least for now, to say nothing."

The others in the room bobbed their heads in agreement. I found myself inclined to agree with them myself. I did not want to put my new family in any danger. I didn't know what the future held, but I knew this: the Cullens had become my family, I would do anything to protect them.

* * *

><p><strong>Wow, eight months. I am a lousy author. Very, very sorry for the long delay, but life happened. And I got bored with this story. I hope I can update this story more regularly, but I can't make any promises. Anyways, hope you this chapter! <strong>

**P.S. Have any of you read _Mark of Athena_ yet? I just got my copy yesterday and haven't had a chance to read it yet. Bummer. I got mine at Wal-Mart for $14. The list price is $20. So I'd go to Wal-Mart if you're looking to save a few bucks. Pick up _The Demigod Diaries _while you're at too. I did read that and it's pretty good. **


	5. Coping

The days slipped by. Days turned into weeks, and weeks into months. Two weeks after my 'change', Edward found a few traces of demigod scent in Forks. Apparently, Annabeth had organized a massive search to find me. And I could not afford to be found. So we packed up, quite quickly too: it seemed the Cullens had done this sort of thing more than once; and left Forks. For good. I really,_ really_ hated doing that to Annabeth. But I could not let her see me. As a Newborn, no matter how good my control was, I was too volatile to be around humans, or something like that. Jasper said I would pretty much go into a feeding frenzy if caught the scent of humans. I didn't think so. I had pretty much proved that on my first hunt. But Carlisle said it would be prudent not to expose me to humans so soon.

We moved to Hanover, New Hampshire, where the Cullens had owned a summer house. It was, rather ironically, only about 250 miles from Manhattan, my old home city. The Cullens were initially worried about exposing me to so many human scents, but were relieved when I showed them that I would be okay. They brought a bag of human blood from the hospital and placed it before me. Although I had felt tempted to drink it, it was not particularly hard to resist. Partly because the bagged blood smelled rather disgusting, and partly because I didn't really want to drink it.

Jacob was a bit of an obstacle. Jacob wasn't a vampire like the rest of us, he was a werewolf, or shapeshifter. Or something like that. Pretty much he could turn into a giant wolf. He was also the Alpha of his pack, and since groups of shapeshifters ran in packs, he was tied to them. The reason he was anywhere near Renesmee, or Nessie, as he had nicknamed her, was because shapeshifters have a mating ritual called Imprinting. I got a long and detailed _and boring _answer from Jake when I asked him about it, but the short of it is that when a wolf sees their mate—and it does not matter what their age—they will "imprint" on the person. Pretty much they become a slave to the bond. They will do anything for the person, be anything, or say anything. And they can't go a day without seeing their imprint. A real dog's life.

I couldn't help but wonder: what did Edward and Bella think of this? And even worse: before Edward and Bella got married, Jacob had been Edward's rival for her hand. Talk about awkward. Edward said he had "accepted Jacob as his son." I still caught the slight grimace on his face whenever he talked about it. But back to Jacobs's dilemma. We figured it out when Jake gave his "alphaship" to another Alpha, Sam. Another long and boring topic. After that, Jake was free to move along with us. The Cullens, who turned out to be rich—like, filthy rich—bought Jake a house a couple blocks away from their own house. Problem solved.

As to why we moved to Hanover: the Cullens didn't want to be separated from Edward and Bella, who were attending Dartmouth. I still didn't understand why. They said they wanted to "blend in", but it still didn't make sense. Edward had attended college like a bazillion time already. Why go for another round? Bella I could understand. She had never been to college and this time would be her first. I guess Edward was attending to keep Bella company. And the Cullens were tagging along to keep Edward and Bella company.

Emmett and Rosalie were attending Dartmouth too. Alice and Jasper left about a week after we moved. Touring Europe, apparently. They said they would be back within two months. It didn't matter they had done that ten times already. I was swiftly learning that repetition was everything to vampires.

Although those attending the Ivy League school did not stay in the college dorms, they were still gone most of the day. That left me with very few people to talk to, and plenty of time on my hands. Renesmee would have been good company, but she and Jake were gone most of the day, doing stuff I did not want to know about. Carlisle was also gone all day. He had applied for a position in one of the clinics nearby, and of course, they were only too happy to have someone with his credentials work there.

So I split my time between two things I came to love: books and music. As it turns out, Edward was a huge music fan of all sorts, and had a massive collection of CDs and audio tracks. He let me use them to my heart's content, provided I didn't break the CDs in half with my strength. I found out two things: one, I really liked older music, and two, I absolutely hated rap and country. Thankfully, Edward seemed to share my perspective, so I found almost nothing of both hated genres in his collection. I found I could appreciate some music from the Romantic Period, but with the exception of Beethoven, I found little to my liking. My real love lay in the Baroque classical period. The music was exciting, but calm; furious, yet soft. I found myself becoming engrossed by hours and hours of Vivaldi, Bach, Mozart, Handel, and many others. However, one aspect of olden music I could not ever, ever begin to like was opera. The high-pitched voices, the annoying squeakiness of it all grated against me.

The other thing I grew to love was reading. When I had been a demigod, I hated reading for one very simple fact: I could not do it. I mean, I _could _read, of course, but due to my dyslexia I could not do it very well. Becoming a vampire changed all of that. I discovered that it had stripped me of my dyslexia and left me able to read quite normally. And beyond normally, too. On a whim, I clocked myself reading a book as fast as I could. It was an enormous book, an old commentary on etymology and the roots of the English Language. It was about forty-five hundred pages long. Within about twenty minutes I finished it. I worked it out and figured I was reading at about 2500 words per minute. And another perk? I had eidetic memory. Everything I ever heard, saw, touched, smelled, and tasted was permanently recorded in my brain.

Carlisle, to my great delight, loved books. He had a grand library, filled with shelves and shelves of books. Volumes on history, mathematics, medicine, science, and philosophy filled the room. In a corner of the room were the novels: classics like _Pride and Prejudice, David Copperfield, Moby Dick, _and _Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea_ abounded. There were some newer books, written in the 20th and 21-centuries, modern contemporizes like _Atlas Shrugged, _which interested me; but with a few exceptions, I did not really care too much for them. I didn't really have a problem with newer stuff, but my interests, like my tastes in music, tended to favor older things.

I loved it. I read like a maniac, stuffing and cramming my head so full I wonder that it did not explode. There was nothing of Carlisle's library I did not read. I think I went through at least ten GDPs with all the textbooks I read.

But I was also learning in other areas as well. My understanding of my vampiric powers grew daily. About twice a week, the Cullens 'took me out to eat,' so to speak, meaning that we ran to Canada to hunt moose and some of the carnivora that resided there.

I discovered a few things about myself. One, that I was much stronger and faster than all of the Cullens, even Edward, whom I later learned had been their fastest runner, as well as Emmett, who was their physically strongest coven member. My skin too, seemed to have gone through 'a hardening.' While I had lost the Curse of Achilles in the Second Gigantes War, as a demigod, my body was stronger more durable than an ordinary human's. This allowed for me to have a stronger and more durable body as a vampire too. I discovered my skin was far too hardened for a regular vampire to bite through or tear apart.

Jasper was most jealous.

I also discovered I could, at will, change my eyesight to thermal imaging. I suppose this was due because I could do that underwater in the sea. There a dozen other little 'perks,' but most were just variations of what I could do when I was a demigod. I found my ability to control and manipulate water, my strongest talent, had tremendously increased in power. If I wanted, I think I could make a wave two thousand feet high and hold it up ten hours straight. In a word: MEGA-UPGRADE. Oh wait, that's two words.

But for all the new things I was experiencing, although I really loved and cared about my new family, I was heartbroken. I did not display it, nor did I ever mention it the others, although I often caught Jasper looking at me with a sympathetic expression. I was lost, bereft of the one person whom I loved the most. Annabeth. Sometimes it seemed too hard to even move around, but I gradually got into a habit of routine. I read books, listened to music, played video games, hunted—anything that would keep me occupied. But it was no use. My thoughts always returned to her. What was she doing? How was she doing? Had she found someone else?

The last one hurt to think about. But yet, it was a reality. Annabeth would eventually move on, find someone else and live a long, happy life. And I would be left behind, unable to age, unable to ever love again, unable to do anything except _endure_.

I decided to learn piano. I needed, I _desperately _needed, to find a way to think, to cope. Playing the piano gave me that. The long hours, running my fingers over the ivory keys, plastic, actually; it gave me a sense of peace and comfort at a time when I desperately needed it. I remember how I started…

_We had just moved to Hanover, and I was incredibly bored. The grand piano Edward owned was one of the few items not sent in the mover's truck. He had set it up in where the living room would be. I was amazed by the sheer beauty of the instrument. The rim, that is, the outer frame, was made of polished beech wood, and the soundboard on the inside was made of carefully fitted spruce. The piano was long, which was said to make better sounds. _

_As I walked up to it, a passing thought entered my head that Edward would not appreciate me using his very fine instrument. It was gone in another second. He was very generous with his belongings to me, provided I took care of them. _

_I sat down on the bench which had been set up in front of the piano. I ran my hands over the keys, feeling their smooth coolness beneath my fingers. As I pressed the Middle C key, a clear note resounded throughout the room. I played a few other keys, getting a feel for the way the notes sounded when I pushed them. I remembered a tune, _pop-goes-the-weasel_, and played it. It was a little rough, but after a few tries, I got it. It actually sounded pretty decent. _

"_You have some talent," said Edward, startling me._

_He was standing in the living room doorway, nonchalantly leaning against the wall. _

"_I didn't know I had an audience," I replied. _

"_Did you ever learn to play?" asked Edward._

"_No, though I wanted to when I was little," I said._

"_Would you care to now?" he asked rather innocently. _

"_I would, actually," I answered. "Are you offering?"_

_He smiled. "Maybe."_

From that time on, in the evenings when he and Bella were home, Edward taught me to play the piano. It was rough going at first. Being a vampire did not save you from making mistakes, or from becoming frustrated when you didn't seem to make progress. But I learned. The one thing good about being a vampire was that I could remember everything he taught me, and that made the lessons tremendously easier. Within about five weeks, I was playing the piano with enough skill to sound really good, but only to a human. And I was nowhere as good as Edward.

But I practiced every day. Often for many hours at a time. The Cullens were kind enough to put up with my gods-awful plunking. I was grateful to them for that. After a while, I stopped playing by the notes in my music books. One thing about my eidetic memory was that I never forgot any sound I ever heard. Or the placements of those sounds. Soon I didn't need to see the notes to play the song. My mind remembered the melody instead. After that, I started playing the music I heard in my head. It was…addicting. I played and played for hours, forgetting my problems, forgetting Annabeth, everything, and just lost myself to the music. It was like a drug to me.

Esme, since she was most often home, would sometimes just sit in the room and listen. I found her presence comforting: she reminded me very much of my mother. She said my music was heartbreaking. I suppose it was. When I became a vampire, lost my ability to cry. I was physically unable to shed tears. So I wept, poured all my tears into my music. I do indeed imagine my music was sad. It was the music a man mourning his love. And the really sad thing? I'd never stop mourning. I was stuck on Annabeth. There was no one else like her for me, and there never would be.

* * *

><p>I'd spent nearly four months with the Cullens when I decided to leave them. It was something I'd been thinking about for several days. Alice called my iPhone immediately.<p>

"Hello?" I asked, already knowing who it was.

"You idiot!" shouted Alice on the other end.

I winced and held the phone away from my ear as Alice ranted. After about two minutes, I cut her off.

"Alice, please stop. I'll explain this evening, I promise," I said placatingly.

"You had better," threatened Alice, and with that she hung up.

That evening, in the living room, Alice called a family meeting. They seated themselves on the couches, chairs, loveseats, and stared expectantly at me. Carlisle spoke first.

"Now, Percy," he began calmly, "it has come to our attention of your intention to leave us. Is that true?"

"Yes," I stated calmly.

Alice walked up to me. Her face was terribly sad. "Percy, why? Don't you know we care about you? You're my brother, please don't go."

"Alice, I have too, I'll go crazy otherwise," I said, trying desperately to make them understand. "I guess you guys figured as much, but before I was changed, I had a girlfriend. Her name is Annabeth. Losing her has been…hard, really hard. Every day, all I can think about is her. It feels like my heart has been ripped out of my chest."

I took a breath, tried to regain some semblance of control over my emotions. "You guys are the best family a person could ever hope to have. But for me, it's just too much, I can't take it anymore. I don't want to sound bitter, or be wet blanket, but watching you, every day, you are all so happy. I want you guys to be happy, I really do, but it hurts to see it. I need some time to be alone."

Edward nodded. "I can perfectly sympathize with you, Percy. There was a time, before Bella and I were together, when I felt exactly the same way. Don't feel bad about it; we will miss you, but if you feel like you need closure, then go ahead. Just don't forget about us, huh?"

"Thanks, Edward, I… I really appreciate it," I said gratefully. I paused, and looked at the others. "What about the rest of you?"

There was a silent moment. Then Esme spoke up. "Percy, you are my son now, you're part of the family. When you hurt, we hurt too. I just want you to be happy. If this will help you be happy, then go. I want you to know I'll miss you, though."

"I don't think I'll ever be really happy, Esme, not like you guys," I said. "But I realize if I am ever to gain something of a life, then I need some time to myself."

"Well," said Carlisle, "I don't believe you have to worry about losing control around humans, you have shown a tremendous amount of restraint for a Newborn. Of course, you will always need to remember yourself, but for the most part, I believe it's safe for you to interact with humans."

I nodded. "I'm not leaving forever," I said. "I will come back eventually. I just need some time."

"I'll hold you to that, Percy," said Alice.

Two days later, I left.

* * *

><p><strong>Did the ending feel a tad abrupt? Hey guys, how did you like it? Sorry about the wait, but it'll have to do. I have a life, you know. But anyways, do you think I got the "WAAAH! I WANT ANNABEEEETH!" feel? Tell me. <strong>

**P.S. Hey guys, I have a little something here: I really appreciate it if you think my story is awesome, and you want me to update it, but simply saying "UPDATE!" doesn't really help me. If you think it's good, tell me why; I'd really like to hear your opinions. And if you have suggestions or comments on making it better, tell me those too, I'd love to hear them. Don't take offense, it just gets annoying, that's all. **

**Til next time! **


	6. Alone

I almost didn't the leave the Cullens. I swear, if there ever was someone able to do puppy dog eyes better than Alice, it would be Annabeth. But maybe that was because I could almost never say no to her. Annabeth, I mean. Yeah, you heard me, the almighty son of Poseidon couldn't say no to his girlfriend. Laugh it up, fuzzball, wait til you get a girlfriend.

Anyway. After leaving, I sort of ran wherever. Except to New York. I couldn't take it if I saw Annabeth had moved on. Even thinking about it made me want to curl up and die. Oh wait, I can't, can I? That's right, I was a vampire. (Insert cheering and clapping here) So dying was kinda out of the question. Yay. That was sarcasm, if you didn't notice.

Well, back to my story. After aimlessly wandering around for a couple of days, I decided to head West, (Go West, young man) to San Francisco. Annabeth's old home city. After my mom died, Annabeth moved to Manhattan to live with me full time. Not like that, idiot. She had her own apartment. Her dad was sort of bummed. I would be too, if a girl that pretty was leaving me. She said that she wanted to go to NYU and take their architectural degree. I knew she was doing it for me. There were a lot more prestigious schools in Cali. When I mentioned it, she simply laughed and said, _"Don't be silly, Seaweed Brain, I'm doing nothing I don't want too." _ Yeah. My girl was awesome like that. It was times like that which really made me feel like a pile of horse shit for leaving her. But I was doing the right thing. As painful as it was for the both of us, she would be safer without me. It was that thought which kept me from going insane.

I finally arrived in 'Cisco two weeks after I left the Cullens. I bought a small house in the suburbs—the Cullens had given me a credit card attached to their bank account—and settled down. It wasn't particularly expensive, but it was nice and comfortable. The first thing I bought was a piano. I refused to go without one, and besides, I liked making music.

For a while, I did nothing. I sat around home, played the piano, read books, and listened to music. Occasionally I ran out to the desert and ate a jackal. Then one day I made a startling discovery…

_I had been living in my house for about three months. I didn't need to sleep, but for some strange reason I bought a bed. Go figure. One day, as I was lying on said bed, I got the strange urge to look in the mirror. I didn't know why, I was physically perfect. I got up and trudged to the bathroom and stared in the mirror. I gasped in surprise. My eyes were turning yellow. I quickly brought my face to the mirror and took a good look. The green of my irises were lightning up into a gold color. _

_Why was this happening? I quickly remembered what Carlisle had said about a vampire's eye color and why it was what is was. It was long and boring lecture, but basically he said my eye color was determined by what type of blood I drank. If I drank human blood, my eyes would turn red. If I continued to drink animal blood, my eyes would turn gold like theirs. I hadn't given it much thought back then. Now, I remembered it. _

_As I sat down upon the bed, I had a sinking sensation. My eyes were the only things that had stayed the same from my transformation. I felt connected to them. Now, they were gone._

_I grabbed my jacket and ran out the house at vampire speed. I just ran. I was good at running away from my problems, you see. _

_San Francisco was a pretty place. It was turning dark, and twilight had just come on. The sun had set, but you could still see, although that was rapidly disappearing. Well, to mortals, anyway. I could still see just fine in the dark. Better than fine, actually. _

_I was running so fast, I was invisible to humans. I was nothing except a rush air. It was then when I heard it. A sound, coming from a darkened alley way. I stopped instantly. Yeah, that's right, sucker; I can stop on the dime. _

_Anyway, I stopped in front of the alley. As I peered into the backstreet, I saw a very familiar sight. Familiar, 'cause it's often happened to me. A monster was cornering a demigod. A girl, by the looks of it._

_She had dark brown hair which reached her waist. I couldn't see her face, the monster was blocking my view. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and she looked like she'd been on the run for a while. _

_The monster attacking her was a Dracanae, or Snake-Woman. She really did look like a human snake. Her body was roughly like that of a human woman, but there the similarities ended. Her legs, or rather, a lack of them, were actually a writhing mass of snakes. She seemed to support her body by spreading them out in all directions, like an octopus. _

'_We don't reveal who we are.' The Cullens's words resounded in by head. And yet, staring at the scene, I couldn't help feeling the urge to help this girl from her impending tragedy. _

_That's it. I wasn't going to stand around while that monster murdered an innocent child. _

_I ran up quickly to the dracanae and threw her into the side of a wall. She hit her head and konked out. I turned to the girl._

_Her eyes were blue, and frightened. But like all demigods, her eyes determined, despite being attacked. She looked like she was around twelve to thirteen years old._

"_Are you okay?" I asked her, bending down. _

_Her eyes widened, and her breath caught. Dang, I hope I didn't scare her._

"_F-fine," she stuttered. "Who are you?"_

"_A friend," I said, smiling at her. Her face turned red. It was then I noticed: her scent was absolutely…delectable. No! I would not drink her blood! I recoiled and gasped. I managed to calm myself after a few seconds and regained my composure. What was that? I'd never felt the urge to drink someone so strongly before._

"_Is everything alright?" the girl asked me, breaking my train of thought._

"_Yeah, I'm good," I replied. The monster groaned. It was recovering. I quickly turned to the girl._

"_Here," I reached into my pocket and pulled out a few hundred dollar bills. "Where you trying to get to?" I asked._

"_N-New York," she said. _

"_Good answer, kid," I said. "Take this and get on the first bus bound for Manhattan. Once you get there, take a cab out to Long Island. The road will take you past a huge pine tree on a hill. Get out there and climb the hill. If you make it past the tree, you're safe." _

_The dracanae was getting up. _

"_Go, I'll take care of this," I said to the girl. "What's your name?"_

"_Cathy," she answered._

"_Good luck, Cathy, I hope you make it," I smiled. _

"_Thank you," she turned and ran off._

_As soon the girl was out of sight, I walked in front of the dracanae and pulled it to its feet._

"_You'll pay for this," hissed the snake-woman. _

"_Probably," I said. I smirked. "But not today."_

_I drew my fist back for a punch that would smash her to pieces when I smelled something. The monster had cut her arm, and blood was seeping out. Not just any blood, though. Monsters are immortal ,and just like the gods, their blood is ichor, the golden life-blood of the immortals. _

_I felt an irresistible urge to drink. If restraining myself from draining Cathy had been hard, this was impossible. I couldn't take it anymore. I fastened my teeth to her neck and bit down, hard. The dracanae screamed in pain and rage as she struggled to escape. It was useless for her, though. I was far, far stronger than anything she was capable of._

_By the gods! The taste was…heavenly. As the blood rushed down my throat, I felt a surge of energy, far greater than anything I'd ever gotten from animal blood. It was like I was floating on air, high on pot, in the throes of ecstasy. _

_Soon, the monster's struggles lessened. Her thrashing slowed and her arms went limp. I tugged the last few drops from her body. She melted in my arms, her body turning to sand and blowing away. Just as if I'd killed her with Riptide. I hadn't seen that sword since my transformation. _

_As my sanity came back to me, I looked at what I'd done. Oddly, I didn't really feel much revulsion. If I was going to kill the monsters anyway, why not benefit from them first? And besides, I was addicted. I knew this wouldn't the last time I drained a monster. _

_I ran back to my house in high spirits. I hadn't felt so good since my transformation. As I walked into the mudroom, something caught my eye and I rushed into the bathroom. _

_My eyes were solid green. _

Since that day, I'd hashed out a theory as to the reason for the color switch. Like Carlisle said, it was all in the blood. If I drank human blood, my eyes would turn red. If I drank animal blood, my eyes would turn golden. If I drank ichor, my eyes would revert to their original color. The reason my eyes were green as a newborn vampire was because my human blood was a mix of mortal blood and ichor. It was also the reason we as demigods attract so many monsters.

I was addicted. Like a guy on crack, I was always looking for my next fix. Or, kill. Whatever. I ended up hunting monsters every week. There seemed to be an exceptionally large amount in San Francisco, so I was set. And that was my life. For a while.

* * *

><p>I loved to run. It was my hobby nowadays. Well, one of them, anyway. But as anyone who's ever lived in a city knows, you don't have a lot of leg room for those sort of activities. So about once a month, I ran up into the wooded areas of California. I especially liked the Redwood ranges. They had some of most beautiful trees I'd ever seen. So huge and ancient, they made you feel real small when you stood in front one of them. Sometimes, I'd climb up one of them. It actually took some effort to get to the top. But it was worth it. You could see for miles and miles around. It was like I was on top of the world.<p>

One day, nearly four months after I'd moved to Cali, I had a unexpected encounter…

_I'd just come from San Francisco for my monthly run into the mountains. I chose the San Bernardino range this time. I wanted to get a whiff of the smell of trees, particularly the ones in San Bernardino National Forest. _

_As I ran, I just let all my feelings out. I let go and tore through the woods. Luckily there were no hikers where I was at, and all the animals tended to flee from my presence. I was alone. Or so I thought. _

_I suddenly caught a trace of vampire scent in the air. It was a little different than what the Cullens or Denalis smelled like though. Was this a human drinker? I could tell it was a male by the way it smelled. I moved towards the scent. At the very least, I knew I couldn't be harmed. Not by a regular vampire. _

_The scent was getting stronger. The other vampire had sensed me and was running away. I sped up. Surprisingly, I wasn't gaining on the him. What was going on? Was he a special vampire? I really picked up the speed then. _

_Suddenly the scent grew much stronger. He was attacking! A low growl ripped through the previously silent woods. It was the other guy. I stopped and crouched in readiness for the impact. All I wanted was to talk, but apparently, that was not going to happen. _

_He was moving so fast, I didn't get a good look at him. All I caught was a flash of blond. He nearly as fast me. I didn't get a chance to ponder this because just then, the vampire slammed into me. _

_Di Immortales! He was strong! _

_I went flying. As we crashed through the trees, I felt a flash of fear. This guy was much stronger than any vampire I'd ever encountered. Maybe even as strong as me. _

_I growled and threw him off of me. He went flying. The other guy jumped back to his feet and raced towards me. I ran forward as well. We collided with a sharp _CRACK! _As we grappled, each of us trying to gain a foothold, I saw something that made me stop cold._

"_Jason?" I asked, startled. The other vampire stopped as well._

"_Percy?" said Jason. _

_I stepped back and examined the vampire's face. Jason Grace. Thalia's little brother. My best friend. Jason's body had undergone the same transformation mine had. He was a taller, more muscular, and definitely better looking. I wasn't gay, or anything like that, but man, if he wanted, I bet he have any girl he wanted. And maybe a few guys. _

"_Percy? Wha-?" He couldn't seem to get his thoughts together. _

"_What are you doing here?" I asked. "How did you get like…?" I gestured vaguely at his body. _

"_First, I was looking for you, asshole," he glared at me. "As for how I got like this, I'm not sure what happened myself. I was in Phoenix actually, and I took an alleyway to get away from a monster. Somebody attacked me. Gods, he was strong! I couldn't do anything. He bit me, and drained my body of blood. Left me for dead. I thought I was dead too. Then, I started burning up."_

"_Hurt like Tartarus, right?" I asked._

"_Yeah, how did yo-?" said Jason._

"'_Cause the same thing happened to me. The burning is so bad, it like…" I trailed off._

"_Anyways," said Jason, "after I woke up, it was like I was in a whole new world. I was faster, stronger, and I could see and hear a lot better too. But I was _so _thirsty."_

"_Jason," I said, a note of worry creeping into my voice, "please tell you didn't kill a human." _

"_No!" shouted Jason. "Sorry. I mean, no, I didn't. I ran. I ran as fast as I could, as far as I could. I ended up in the desert. I found a coyote and drained it. I figured out what I was."_

"_When did this happen?" I asked._

"_About a month ago," said Jason. "I've been running around like this for a month. What about you? How did you turn into a vampire?"_

"_Let's see, I disappeared in September, right? I'd say six months ago. I was getting those demigods, the children of Demeter. After I put them on the train, a bunch of hellhounds attacked me. I managed to kill them, but one got me real bad. I was dying, and then a vampire found me. He took me back to his coven and turned me. We moved to New Hampshire a couple weeks later. I left them and came to San Francisco. I've been living there ever since."_

_We were silent for a while, each pondering the other's story. Then, Jason spoke up._

"_Dude, we went just about crazy looking for you. Annabeth… went a little crazier than the rest of us. She actually went to Olympus and demanded Hera to stop fucking with her life."_

_My eyebrows shot up. "She said that? Is she okay?"_

"_I'd be more worried about Hera if I were you," Jason chuckled. "The gods denied having any part in this. Said, and I quote, 'Perseus Jackson has left our boundaries. His fate no longer concerns us.' They swore on the Styx." _

"_How's Annabeth?" I tried to keep worry out of my voice._

"_How do you think?" said Jason sarcastically. "She's done everything she could to find you, and then some. We couldn't find a trace of you. Nothing. Then, about a month ago, we hit our first lead. That girl you rescued, Cathy. Said you were in San Francisco. Annabeth wanted to go herself, but we made her see reason. She been wearing herself down. Physically, I mean. Looks like a scarecrow."_

_My heart twisted with worry. Why was she doing this to herself? That girl. She never took care of herself properly._

"_So I was sent instead," Jason continued. "Only problem was, I got off in Phoenix for a bathroom break. A hellhound found me. So I took off. Ran down the wrong alley. You know the rest." _

"_Jason, I…never…" I trailed off, unsure of what to say. _

"_Hey man, I don't blame you. What happened to me wasn't your fault. This was our destiny. Not much you can do. But you know, all of this, the power, the strength, all the abilities, I'd trade them away for a chance at my old life. I haven't…" Jason's voice started breaking. "I haven't called or talked to Piper since the change, you know?"_

_If he could, Jason would be crying. _

"_And, uh, I miss her, you know?" He was really losing it. _

"_Yeah, I know," I replied. "I miss Annabeth, too."_

"_You know," said Jason softly, " when I woke up, it was like BAM! I was stuck on Pipes. No one else would do, just her. I thought, at first, it would be best if I left her. For her own good. But now, it's been a month, and I'm losing it. I'm thinking about seeing her."_

"_Don't," I said. "If you hurt her, you'll regret it for the rest of your very long life."_

_We didn't say anything for a while. We didn't need to. We both knew what the other was going through. It was some comfort, I guess. Both of us knowing the other person was feeling just as bad yourself. Heh. All we needed now was some ice cream and we could spend the night consoling each other and watching Brad Pitt movies. Sarcasm duly noted. _

_After that, we spent some time talking. It was good, real good, to talk to my best friend again. I told him everything the Cullens had told me about being a vampire. I also told him about my ichor addiction. _

"_You mean you actually drink their blood," asked Jason, incredulously. _

"_Why not?" I said. "What's the difference between killing them with a sword or killing them with your teeth? Besides, it tastes _so _damn good."_

"_I guess you can look at it like that…" he said unsurely. "But still: drinking their blood? It's just sounds really gross to me." _

_I shrugged. "A guy's gotta do what a guy's gotta do. Besides, you haven't tasted ichor yet. I'll bet you you'll be changing your tune once you have."_

"_Maybe," he still sounded unsure._

"_At any rate, it keeps your eye color the same. If you keep drinking animals, your eyes will turn gold. Drink ichor, and your color will be the ones you were born with."_

"_Huh. Never thought of that," said Jason. _

_We didn't say much. It was then I noticed we'd talked all through the night and now the sun was coming up. _

"_Hey listen, the sun is coming up. I need to get back to my house, wanna come with?" I asked him. _

"_Sure," Jason said with a grin. _

_And off we ran, hand in hand, laughing into the sun. _

_Ha._

_As if. _

* * *

><p><strong>BAM! Didn't expect that, did ya? Huh? Huh? Yeah, you totally didn't. Anyways, how y'all doing? (No, I'm not from Texas. Or even remotely in the South. I just find the accent incredibly amusing.) A little quicker update, eh? So you guys all something to be thankful for now. Even if is three days late. <strong>

**So I was going through PJO and Twilight crossover fanfic archive and I noticed something. All the fics are pretty much, Bella is a demigod; Bella has a half brother or sister that's a demigod; Bella is a goddess; OC character comes to Forks and werewolf imprints on her. What is up with that? Is there no imagination left among the people? Sorry for the rant, but just I find it depressing when people don't use their imagination and instead copy other's hard work. I mean if everyone's doing it, you don't have to do it too. I didn't. **

**P.S. I updated my Author's page. Go check it out for all the juicy details of my life! I doubt you'll find much, I'm planning on being famous, so I'm not telling a lot, lol;)**


	7. Annabeth

I was in the woods again. The Muir Woods, to be exact. I had a thing for redwoods. I was running through the trees, jumping over fallen logs, and skipping over the occasional creek or stream.

I was alone. Jason had left me after a few days. He had itchy feet, apparently. Said he wanted to get away from it all. I could relate.

I barely missed crashing into a tree. I wouldn't have crashed through. I have super cool vampire abilities that let me avoid trifling things like trees. They also let me do things like run so fast you can't see me. Or drain your blood in point three seconds. Yeah, that's right: you're not safe. I can find you(insert maniacal laughter here).

But luckily(for you), I'm just not that type of guy. I'm a _good _vampire, if there ever were such a thing. I drink, eh, _alternative_ blood. Which is to say, monster blood, or ichor. My life's motto has always been '_don't waste food.'_ So if I am going to kill a person anyways, and this purely hypothetical,(hehe, of course it is), then I might is well drink their blood. It only makes sense, right? I mean, a demigod vampire has to eat. What else are we supposed to drink, animal blood? You can obviously see how absurd that is. The stuff tastes worse than pee. And trust me, I know(long story, not anything recent).

I sighed. As I ran, I thought back on how pathetic my life was getting. Let's see, I had been turned in September, and now it was March, so that was six months(see my mathematical genius there?). Six months since I'd seen Annabeth, talked to any of my friends(except for Jason), or visited camp. I wonder if anyone missed me. Maybe they thought I was dead. I wondered what Annabeth was doing. Her birthday had passed by in February. She was eighteen now. Did she still love me? Or had she given up and found another boyfriend? I wouldn't blame her. A boyfriend that kept disappearing wasn't much of a boyfriend at all.

I jumped over a small fifty foot tree(small compared to redwoods around it).

I had long given up denying the fact that my life was screwed. Sure, I got these really cool powers(running had become my obsession), but at the same time, I would trade them away for a chance at my old life. I also stopped denying the fact that I was a coward. A man, a _real_ man, would have had the guts to face his girlfriend and end things properly. To not leave her wondering what was going on, why he wasn't calling, and wondering if he were dead or not.

But I was not a real man. I couldn't face Annabeth and tell her I didn't love anymore. I don't think I could have lied to her so blatantly. So I did what I did best. I ran from my feelings and my responsibilities.

I turned and climbed up a giant sequoia tree. I had a great view from the top of the tree. Miles and miles of pine-green wood ran before me in a seemingly endless sea of trees. It was breathtaking. I felt like a miniature amongst the humongous trees. It was sort of like life itself. Everything can seem so huge and big when you're down in the middle of it, but when you take a step back and gain the proper perspective, you can see just how amazing and beautiful it really is.

After I spent a few hours just sitting on the tree branch, I stood up and jumped off. The world seemed to slow down, and I felt like I was falling through amber liquid. I landed on the balls of my feet, shaking off an impact which would have killed a human. I turned and started running back to San Francisco.

As I neared the borders of the forest, I heard a sound. A scream. It was female, and coming from about a mile away. It as I focused on the sound, I smelled a scent I knew all too well. Vampire. A male vampire was attacking a female human.

I immediately turned and dashed towards the sound. Although the Cullens had a strict, no-interfere policy when it came to the human blood drinkers of our kind, I refused to be so callous. I would not ever, ever condone the murder of innocent people.

Even though I reached the clearing in ten seconds flat, I was afraid I might have been too late.

The clearing was situated near the edge of the forest, but deep enough in so that nobody human would be able to hear the victim's screams. At the edge of the clearing I saw them. It was a male vampire and young woman. The vampire had evidently broken her arm, maybe her ribs, and had definitely also broken her right leg, if the odd angle at which it was bent was any indication.

So quickly had I ran, so swiftly had I'd appeared, that the vampire had no warning before I arrived. As soon as he registered me, though, he growled.

"Get lost," he snarled, hissing and glaring at me. "This one's mine!"

He had thrown the girl to the ground the second he saw me. He took a defensive stance. I glanced at the girl. Her face was turned away from me, but I did catch a glimpse of blond hair.

"Not a chance in hell!" I threw back at him, and then charged.

The fight was over before it had begun. I moved so fast, he never had a chance. I first kicked the legs out from under him, sweeping him to the ground. Quick as a flash, I reached out and tore off his arms. There was a grating sound, like sheet metal being ripped apart.

The vampire screamed. I didn't waste time. After tossing aside his arms, I grabbed one of his legs and pulled. Off came the leg. More screaming. Then the other leg. He was disabled: not able to move or run, and completely at my mercy.

I decided to be merciful. I grabbed his head in my hands and twisted sharply. I was holding a vampire head in my hands.

After grabbing the scattered body parts that were lying around, which was disgusting, by the way; I put them all into a pile and used the lighter I carried everywhere to light them on fire. They easily caught fire and turned to smoke. A heavy, cloying, perfumed scent filled the air.

I turned my attention to the blond girl. She was in need of medical attention, and while I might know a thing or two about healing, I was no doctor. I turned her over to get a good look at her face and got the biggest shock of my life.

Annabeth.

I staggered backwards, stunned senseless.

WHAT THE HELL WAS ANNABETH DOING HERE? Oh gods. She. Almost. Died. SHE ALMOST DIED! If I hadn't gotten there in time… No, no, no, NO!

I was breathing heavily and panicking.

Ok, ok, calm down Percy. She's not dead. She NOT dead. But she will be if you don't get her a hospital soon.

That thought quickly brought me to my senses. Quickly, I stooped and gathered her in my arms. I turned and made for the Golden Gate Bridge. I was running at my top speed, racing against time itself, trying desperately to save Annabeth. I didn't know too much about medicine, but I'm pretty sure such pale skin wasn't healthy.

I made it into the Richmond District and raced to the California Pacific Medical Center, which was the nearest emergency room available. I must have looked a sight: wild, panicky look on my face, carrying an unconscious girl in my arms, and shouting, "somebody help!"

Doctors appeared seemingly out of nowhere and somebody managed to pry Annabeth away from me and strap her to a gurney, upon which they wheeled her to another room. I tried to follow, but some other doctors stopped me.

"You'll only be in the way," a white haired, elderly looking man in a white coat said to me. "The best thing you can do is wait. She'll be alright, don't worry."

I could have easily pushed past them, but I realized they were right, so I stayed put. It wasn't easy though: every second seemed like a lifetime; all I wanted was to be by her side.

As the adrenaline wore off, I was given a chance to think. What had just happened? After months and months of not seeing Annabeth, in one day, I had saved her life and was waiting in a hospital to hear if she was alright.

What should I do now? I could just leave. The doctors didn't know my name and I'm sure nobody knew who I was. If I left I could avoid Annabeth and the whole messy confrontation I was sure would follow.

No.

I would not run away. Not again. I'd left the first time to protect Annabeth against the new side of my life, and she'd nearly died because I wasn't around to protect her. Even if she ended up hating my guts, I would never leave her like that again.

A feeling of cold fury curled in the bottom of my stomach as I remembered the vampire who had attacked her. I wish I could raise him from the dead and kill him all over again, albeit much, much more slowly, painfully.

"Excuse me, sir?" I looked up and saw a nurse standing in front of me holding a clipboard in her hands. "I need to ask you a few questions about the young woman you brought in."

I wasn't going to run away.

"Sure," I said.

"How you find her?" she asked.

I thought quickly. If I said the Muir woods, they would get suspicious. After all, a normal person can't get all the way from there to the hospital in the time I did, or her condition would have been much worse. I quickly made of a story on the spot.

"In an alley a few blocks west of here," I answered. "I was walking by when I heard a scream. When I investigated there was a man standing over her. I shouted and he ran off. I think he was going to rape her, but hadn't yet." It was an acceptable story, and not too far off from the truth.

The nurse scribbled on the clipboard. "Do you know her name?" she asked me. "We weren't able to find any ID on her."

"Um, yeah," I frowned and furrowed my forehead like it was hard to remember. "Annabeth, I believe. She told it before she passed out."

"Any last name?" the nurse asked, still writing on her board.

"No," I lied, "I didn't catch in time."

"And what's your name?" she asked.

"Percy Jackson," I said. I gave her my address.

After a moment of more writing the nurse looked down at me with a smile. "Okay, Mr. Jackson, thank you for your time. You've been most helpful."

"Do you mind if I stick around?" I asked, making sure I sounded somewhat shy. "I kinda want to make sure she's okay."

"That's fine," she said, and walked away.

I waited and waited for hours. Finally a doctor came up to me.

"Are you Mr. Jackson?" He said, peering down at me.

"That's me," I said, standing up.

"The woman you brought in is awake," said the doctor. "Her name is Annabeth Chase, and she has some severe injuries."

My heart clenched. I kept a cool face, though. "What are they?"

"Well, she has several broken bones and a slight concussion," said the doctor, looking down a paper he held in his hands. "We found three broken ribs, her left arm was fractured, and her right tibia is broken. We have her on pain meds."

I was reeling. Oh Annabeth, my poor Annabeth.

"Do you know her personally?" the doctor asked. "Are you family? Friends, maybe?"

"No, I don't," I lied again. "I'm just the guy who found her."

"Well, it's a good thing you did find her," said the doctor, "one of her ribs was dangerously close to puncturing her lungs. A few hours too late and she was would be dead."

"Can I see her?" I asked.

"Well, I guess it's okay," he was reluctant. "Just for a few minutes, and don't wake her if she's asleep."

"I won't," I said, and followed the doctor to Annabeth's room.

When we reached the room she was in, the doctor was called away by a nurse and had to leave. That was fine by me. I softly pushed open the door and peeked in.

It was a fairly nondescript hospital room: white walls, one small window, a little bathroom on the side, and a mechanized bed in the center of the room. Upon the bed lay Annabeth. Her head was bandaged, and her chest was taped up. Her left arm was in a cast, and so was her right leg, which was slightly propped up. Her face was so white it wasn't even funny; she looked like she had gone a few rounds with death and barely won. Which was kind of true.

Her eyes were closed, but I could tell by the sound of her breathing she was awake. I made a slight noise to alert her of my presence. Her grey eyes opened slowly. They was a little dazed and groggy, but they were as beautiful as I remembered them.

When she saw me, her eyes went wide and she gasped.

"P-Percy?" she asked incredulously.

"Hey, Wise Girl," I said with smile.

"Wha-" she began.

"Look," I cut her off, "I know you have questions, and I promise I will answer them, but you have to pretend you don't know me."

Her eyebrows furrowed cutely. "Pretend I don't know you?"

"That's right, Annabeth," I said. "Look, um, there have been some, ah, _things _which happened to me, and I really can't talk about them right here and now. I promise, though, once you get better and you can leave here, we'll talk. And then I'll tell you everything."

"'Things'?" she said confusedly, "Percy, what are you talking about? Where have you been? And what happened to your face? It's different."

"I promise," I said, "I'll tell you everything, but for right now, I can't talk. Just pretend you don't know me, okay? Can you manage that?" I tried not to sound condescending.

"But-" she began.

"Please, Annabeth," I begged her.

"Alright," she said after a moment. "But I want to everything. And by everything, I mean _everything. _You owe that much anyways."

I swallowed. "Alright. I'll tell you everything."

At that moment the doctor walked in. Annabeth cleared her throat and said, "Thank you for bringing me to the hospital, Mr. Jackson, I'm in your debt."

Catching on, I said, "It's fine, I just did what one human would do for another." Except I'm not human. "And please, call me Percy." I smiled at her, and had the immense pleasure of seeing her face turn pink. I still got it. YES!

"Uh, Mr. Jackson," the doctor interrupted, much to my annoyance, "visiting hours will be over soon, please hurry up and make your goodbyes." He turned and left.

Annabeth turned to me and raised an eyebrow. "Well he's kinda rude."

I grunted, "Yeah, hospital staff seem to be getting worse and worse these days." I looked into her eyes and we shared a moment. After a minute or two of staring, I broke the silence by clearing my throat. "Hey, um, I really should be going."

Annabeth's eyes widened and I heard her breath catch. "Don't go," she whispered.

I reached out and grabbed her hands in mine; softly though, I didn't want to injure her further.

"I'm _not _leaving you, okay?" I promised, looking into her eyes. "I'll be back tomorrow."

"You left me before," she whispered.

"I know, Annabeth, and I'm sorry," I said, "but that's not happening now. I'll never leave you again."

"Swear it," she said, apparently not trusting my word. Oh well, can't blame her.

"I swear in the Styx," I swore, "I'll never abandon you again."

She seemed to slightly relax. "Okay," she said, "make sure you come back tomorrow."

"I'll will," I said simply. As I prepared to leave, a thought hit me, and I felt my stomach turn. "Hey Annabeth," I said rather hesitantly, "you didn't get another boyfriend, did you?" I kind of felt like a jerk for asking, but I really was scared.

Her mouth dropped. "Do you take me for some kind of a cheating slut?" she asked angrily.

Oh boy. "No, I-" I tried to speak on my behalf, but Annabeth wasn't hearing it.

"Then how dare you ask me that?" she was mad. Like really mad. "Of course I don't have another boyfriend!" Underneath the anger, though, she looked hurt. A lance of guilt stabbed through me.

"I'm sorry, Annabeth," I said softly, "I don't mean to act like a jerk, but I had to know. It's been killing me not to for the last six months."

"But why would you think that in the first place?" she asked, aghast.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked in return. "I mean, what kind of guy leaves his girlfriend for six months without a word? I pretty rotten one, I'd think. I wouldn't blame you if you had."

"Percy," she whispered, looking stunned.

I turned to leave. "Look, I need to go, Annabeth," I said. "I'll be back tomorrow."

As I left, I heard the quiet sound of Annabeth crying.

* * *

><p><strong>Hey everyone! Sorry for the longer than usual wait, but I been sick with a strong case of slothfulness. It's really easy to catch, by the way. And I have my school finals coming. <strong>

**But enough of my real life crap, how did you guys like the chapter? THE REUNION WE'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR! Well, you have anyways, I already knew how they'd meet up. Perks of being the author;) I know it wasn't all "PERCY! ANNABETH! I MISSED YOU SO MUCH!" *KISSING* I do like those too, but I didn't feel that scenario fit here. Let me know how you liked it! **


	8. Author's Note

Hello all my dear readers! This is sort of an explanation for my extended absence.

When I started this story over 2 years ago, I really loved PJO, and to lesser degree, Twilight, though I can safely say I've always despised the movies (coughEdwardisgaycough). But these days I've really lost interest in both those stories. I mean, if you don't like the original story enough anymore to write fanfiction about it, how can you be expected to pump out updates! I really am somewhat sad about it; for me it's sort of like Peter growing up and leaving Neverland; it was a phase in my life which I outgrew. I still do read FF around here, but I can't really write it anymore.

And there are a ton of less central reasons. I'm way too busy these days with my job; I'm graduating; there's a girl I like who likes me back (it's totally going to work out), and I'm heavily involved with youth-related stuff. All of them eat of up my time. And what little I do have I like to put toward my other hobbies, like the incredibly mentally stimulating activity of playing video games, or my other, perhaps more intellectual stimulating, habit of reading.

I would really like to thank those that supported me and reviewed, if sometimes demandingly. I really appreciate it.

P.S. All the people reading this are singing, "It's too late to apologize…"


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